Upon the Final Morning
by LadyGoddessofAnubis
Summary: Throwing off the shackles of his family name has never been more difficult. Especially when those shackles are the deaths of hundreds of children that are still very much upset. But Michael Afton is dedicated to undoing all the wrong his father has done, and thankfully he has help. Finale to the Upon Series.
1. Chapter 1

Summary: Throwing off the shackles of his family name has never been more difficult. Especially when those shackles are the deaths of hundreds of children that are still very much upset. But Michael Afton is dedicated to undoing all the wrong his father has done, and thankfully he has help.

Warnings: violence, death, molestation,

Xxxxxx

He'd forgotten what rain smelt like.

Standing there, on the porch, he realized how much he'd taken for granted. Taste, smells, touch…He took a deep breath. He then exhaled slowly, eyes glowing as he looked over the dense forest that surrounded the home he'd hidden away here. The stars were bright overhead and the moon was a yellow crescent. He'd never seen such a beautiful sight.

"Daddy?"

He turned, seeing his daughter pushing the screen door open. "What's wrong, baby girl?"

She quickly reached out and held his hand, leaning her cheek against his arm. "Are you gonna head into town again soon? Can you get me more books?"

He raised an eyebrow at her. "More? Ya have a full bookcase at this point…sure ya don't want anything else?"

She giggled, swinging his hand playfully. "Maybe I need another bookcase!"

"Spoiled brat."

He knelt down, pressing a kiss against her forehead. She smiled at him. Carefully, he rubbed his knuckles against her cheek, caressing her as he eyed her face. He'd missed her so much. Seeing his little girl again felt like a blessing. One he knew he didn't deserve, but he'd take full advantage of.

"When will we see Alex again?" She whispered suddenly, forcing him out of his thoughts.

"…When he's ready to come to us."

"But that could be _forever_! I miss him…" She whined. "He read me a book you know. But he didn't know it was me yet."

"I know, sweetie. But soon we'll be a family again, okay?"

He kissed her again. Dejected, she went back into the house. He watched her go before sighing, turning back to the desolate forest. The mention of Alex left an emptiness in his chest despite his body being mostly hollow already.

" _We miss him as well."_

He huffed. "Not the way I do."

" _And for as long as We are connected, you will not touch him the way you hope."_

Grinning, he rolled his eyes before stepping off his porch and making a beeline for the trees. His daughter wanted new books, and he'd get them for her. But thinking of his dear Alex and having the sensation of touch back set off a yearning that he hadn't felt in a long time. One he'd need sated away from his still mentally young child.

He licked his lips eagerly and disappeared into the forest.

Xxxxxxx

"Bonnie, Freddy, have either of you seen my hat? I know I left it on the table earlier." Mike called from the stage.

The huge brown bear huffed near him. "We don't usually make a habit of moving your clothes, Mike."

"Found it!" Chica called, peeking from the kitchen hallway. She held up a small golden brown bunny. "Plush took it Mike."

Plushtrap hissed at her, struggling in her arms. Mike rolled his eyes. "Thanks Chica. Plush I told you, if you wanna wear my hat, just ask me."

He took it off the small robot's head and put it back on his own. Plushtrap glowered at him in a childish manner. Chica patted his head before setting him down. The bunny ran off towards the vintage stage where Springtrap and Fredbear were sitting for the night. The Head Guard had noticed Plushtrap seemed to prefer his lookalike's company to anyone else.

"With your raise, does that mean you'll be able to eat more? You were starting to look a bit thin there, Mike." Bonnie said.

"Well, I'll be eating healthier that's for sure…between Jeremy's lack of appetite and Eggs wanting nothing but popcorn it's been a mess. Plus all our schedules are different. I barely see either of them except on Sundays." Mike replied easily, dusting himself off.

"Aye, th'ole boy Jeremy be complainin' the very same!" Foxy pointed out. "He be missin' ya, Mike."

Mike rolled his eyes playfully. "I doubt he said that."

"Course not! But a pirate always knows."

"Has Alex been okay?" Springtrap suddenly asked. He and Fredbear had wandered over at the mention of the younger man. "Thanks to the new connection between Circus Baby's, we get updates from the others. But he hasn't come in for weeks."

"He's been fighting with some of the stockholders lately so he's been busy. But don't worry, he'll come in to visit you soon." Mike promised.

He got his things together. Bonnie handed him his laptop bag and Chica had a pizza made and ready for him as he headed for the door. He waved goodbye to the animatronics as he left the restaurant, locking it up behind him, and went for his car. Driving to the house only took ten minutes and as he parked in the garage, he saw a light come on in the living room.

"Jeremy?" He called as he entered the house.

"Who else would it fucking be?"

He rolled his eyes. Jeremy was sitting on the couch watching TV as he sipped a coffee. On the cushion next to him was a slightly beat up Fredbear plush that Eggs kept calling PF for some reason. Mike put his laptop down on the dining room table and walked into the living room. He gently moved the plush and sat next to his friend, offering the pizza box.

"Save some for Eggs."

Jeremy rolled his eye and took a slice of pizza. "I'm not a goddamn garbage disposal you know. He's still sleeping. Looks like he had a rough day though."

"He usually does. Who knows how many of those assholes knew about what was going on behind the scenes…" Mike grumbled.

"Probably all of them. It'd be hard to hide all the deaths they've gone through and the weeping families looking for their missing loved ones." Jeremy shrugged it off.

They sat there for a bit eating. The blond engineer mumbling a comment now and then about whatever they were watching on TV, mostly about how stupid or ridiculous it was. Mike just smiled. Lately Jeremy's insomnia had been getting worse for whatever reason and Eggs was more and more stressed out. But for Mike things had been going well and he was starting to feel guilty about it.

"Morning." Eggs greeted them as he stepped out of his bedroom.

"Morning Omelet. Your breakfast is pizza." Jeremy greeted.

Mike rolled his eyes at them. "Only because Jeremy keeps forgetting to buy cereal."

"Fuck you. I bought cereal last week and neither of you touched it."

The youngest went straight for the coffee machine. "Don't have time for breakfast anyway."

That made Mike pause, eyes narrowing at the other's back. "You didn't eat anything last night before I left. Did you at least have lunch?"

" _Yes_ Mike. Geez. You're not my mom." Eggs hissed at him grumpily. "I'll stop on my way home with dinner okay? I'm sick of eating nothing but pizza. If my new plans go through, we're adding more food to the menu. Maybe burgers."

"Don't you need a new mascot for burgers?" Jeremy asked.

"Nah. We're just adding them to the menu so we're not just a pizzeria anymore. At least with Baby's we are. Freddy's will still be a pizza only place."

"Ballora's Burger Joint." Mike offered proudly.

He saw Eggs rolling his eyes. "Ballora has made it very clear she'd rather not be a star attraction. She says too many Dad's get…weird around her."

Jeremy snorted, hiding a grin. "I wonder why."

"Anyway, I need to get going. I'm firing a few people that aren't going to walk out happy so I'm having Foxy nearby just in case."

Mike frowned at that. "Maybe you should have Freddy with you too? Just in case? You should hire some kind of body guard or something."

Eggs grinned at that, laughing. "Foxy is all a body guard I need. Trust me. She's the fastest one of them and if anyone tried anything, he'd be quick to rip them apart."

"Good. Make sure you punch them in the face if you gotta, remember when you almost broke my fucking nose? You got this." Jeremy added helpfully.

The younger man flushed at that. "I told you I was sorry…."

He then quickly left the house for the garage. Mike watched him go, finishing up his pizza. "We need to get him to take a break. He needs a vacation."

"Mike. We've been dealing with this fucking bullshit for how long? We _all_ need a vacation." Jeremy grumbled.

"Good point…"

Xxxxx

Eggs was about to head out for the night when he noticed Ballora motioning towards him. He hesitated. The only reason she'd have him stay is something going on. It had been a long day; she and the others had been performing and looking after the children while he had been trying desperately to weed out anyone connected to his father from the company. He just wanted to go home and have a quiet night to himself for once. Sighing, he wandered over to the stage where she and Freddy were waiting.

"Yeah?"

"You have a call." Ballora explained softly, listening for anyone nearby. "Your…sister, Mr. Afton."

Eggs gaped at her, then Freddy. "W-what? But it's not the sixth…"

"It seems like its just her this time." Freddy answered.

That…had never happened before. He glanced around Circus Baby's, seeing that it was mostly empty before he went for his office. He locked his door and ran to his computer. After a few seconds, a window popped up and his little sister was staring at him.

"Cindy! Are you okay? Did something happen?"

She beamed at him. "Alex! I've been trying to figure out Daddy's programs for a while and I got it!"

He blinked at her. "…Wait, you're calling me without Dad knowing?"

"Yep! He went into town to buy some stuff so I snuck into his office!" The reddish blond-haired girl giggled. "Oh, you won't believe what happened yesterday. I got an A on my test! And Daddy mentioned upgrading my brain and maybe getting me a taller body. I told him I'm tired of being so little."

"…Cindy, not that I'm unhappy to see you, but calling me at work is dangerous! You guys are supposed to be hidden and dead, if someone found out…" He scolded.

Cindy frowned at that, looking hurt. "But I miss you…When are you gonna come here with us? It's nice out here. We got a TV and some games and books and we can finally be a family again! Maybe we can even start over and have new brothers and sisters."

Eggs sighed. "I'm still fixing things out here. Remember what Baby did? I gotta make sure nothing like that ever happens again, sweetie."

"I guess…but I want us together. Daddy and I have been having fun but it's not the same without you and Shawn and Caleb."

"I know, but they're gone. Okay? Now I need you to get off Dad's computer so he doesn't find out you did this or you'll get into trouble." Eggs said softly.

Cindy frowned. She glanced off to the side, thinking. Her green eyes were beginning to glow slowly as she sat there in silence. Eggs winced. She was getting upset. In the few times he'd talked with his dad, he knew that the eyes only did that when they were getting worked up. A flaw in their programming. But there wasn't anything he could do to sugarcoat things to her.

"Daddy's trying so hard, Alex." She finally said. "I can see it in his eyes. Something is bothering him. And I think having you around would help. But you don't want to come, do you? You said Daddy had hurt you, but what could he have done that you'd hate him?"

Of course, having him around would help, he thought irritably. But he kept his mouth shut. Swallowing roughly, he just sighed and tried to think of how he could possibly explain this to her.

"It's not about me. He's hurt so many children, Cindy-!" Eggs tried but she shook her head childishly.

"No! No no no no, I don't care! I've hurt them too, Alex! I tried so hard not to, but I did, and I remember all of it! For years I was stuck and now things can be like they used to but you won't let them!"

"You couldn't help it though." He said.

She pouted at him. "If I can't help it then maybe Daddy couldn't either."

Eggs sighed, running a hand through his hair. He wished he could explain to her. But how, when she hadn't experienced anything except being a small child and then being trapped inside a murder bot for so many years? He shook his head. But keeping her holed up in some house with just their Dad wasn't helping either.

"Things don't always work out, Cindy." He whispered.

"You just don't want them to!"

She slammed her hands down on the keyboard and suddenly the video feed was gone. Eggs sat there for a bit. He stared at his screen before slowly getting up from his chair and leaving his office. Foxy saw him and waved but stopped when he saw the expression on the technician's face.

"I…should get home." He mumbled and made for the door.

"Eggs, we wish we could help." She said softly.

He nodded. "I know. But I think I'm getting closer to fixing his shit. And once that's done…"

Foxy glanced over at where Ballora and Freddy were standing. "You know we'll help you kill him. Whatever it takes, Eggs."

He stroked his snout. "Yeah…Part of me doesn't want to. He's still my Dad. But there's no other way I can make sure he'll never hurt anyone again."

"You can't kill him until you figure out how he keeps returning." Ballora pointed out.

Eggs gave a laugh at that as Freddy gently patted his shoulder. "Yeah good point. Killing him only for him to stalk me down a few months later…There's still so many files to go through underground and I'm starting to worry he might realize what I'm looking for."

"We've been looking too!" Bonbon suddenly popped up, pulling on Eggs' pantleg.

"Good, thanks guys." He hesitated. "I might have to ask Henry…but then I risk letting him on to things. What if…"

"You cannot do everything. You're trying your best on fixing up the company and giving us the means of righting our wrongs. It's best you focus on that." The ballerina offered.

He glanced at her before turning away. "Yeah, I know. Thanks."

Xxxxxx

When Eggs took over Fazbear Entertainment, he had no idea the rollercoaster he was in for.

Taking over was easy. There was a man that had been a puppet head, a fake CEO, that Eggs decided to keep as an assistant. He was a smart man, hard working and totally innocent and oblivious to the wrongdoing going on in the background. Simon Flynt was an invaluable help and he taught Eggs the reigns.

The hard part was the stockholders and the scientists that had been involved. Money hungry, empathy-lacking business men and people in lab coats that were too interested in the experiments his dad had allowed. Eggs wished he could do more than fire them. He had found a list of children that had died underground in the Rental and it kept him up at night, remembering the names.

Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria was getting more popular now though and it was moving away, slowly, from the rumors and whispers of the kids that had died there. There was also the new restaurant, the Toy Chest, where the Toy versions were kept and now there was Circus Baby's. They were making money again, going in the green, and everyone of the staff that Eggs kept heralded him as a godsent.

But Eggs wasn't happy with just that. So, he kept going to the old Rental and tried desperately to find what his Dad had made. It had brought him back to life, had healed Eggs himself when he needed it, and gave his sister a body. Surely there were notes? A paper trail? But he couldn't find where it was hidden away and he was scared of revealing his plan in case his Dad retaliated.

The stress was getting to him. He wasn't sleeping, wasn't eating, couldn't focus. Mike and Jeremy were noticing as well. The problem with having roommates, of course, was the difficulty in hiding anything from them. Jeremy kept trying to get him to come hang out with him at home, likely to get him a break, and Mike kept bothering him to eat more, sleep more, stop working.

But how could he? Both of them had suffered fighting his Dad. Jeremy had recently gotten a glass eye, trying to look normal, and Mike's scars were hard to not see when the man changed his shirt. On top of them, there were the animatronics. Ballora, Freddy, Foxy, Plush and Bonbon…all sentient from the screaming ghost that had possessed them. And then the other robots that had been possessed…

Eggs let himself into the home that night. Mike was getting dressed to leave for work, pausing to glance at him and wave, while Jeremy was against the dining room window smoking. The youngest glared at him but didn't argue. So long as he kept it to the window.

"Heya Alex! How was work?"

"Fine. Grabbed dinner, you got time before you leave?" Eggs asked, setting a couple bags on the dining table.

"What they gonna do, fire him?" Jeremy snorted, smirking at the two of them.

Mike laughed at that. Eggs rolled his eyes. The three of them sat there together as they ate. Eggs had stopped by and gotten Chinese. Mike and Jeremy rambling about little things and Eggs mentioned what had happened at work beside the incident with Cindy. He'd rather not remember it himself. And Mike especially was still iffy about bringing up the connection he had to his Dad.

"Tell Spring I'll come see him soon, okay? I plan on holding a meeting about the new changes coming out." Eggs said.

"Good. That fucking chatterbox won't shut up about you." Jeremy grumbled.

Mike rolled his eyes. "Changes? Anything interesting?"

"Mostly corporate shit. But Monday the raise goes into effect. And I think we'll be opening up more positions. We need more guards for one thing, at all locations, and I want Jeremy to train a new Engineer for the Toy Chest." Eggs explained.

"Fritz mentioned he'd interviewed a guard. Anyone good?" Jeremy asked.

"Some kid. Looked like a thrill seeker, I wanted Fritz to make sure he wasn't trying to 'expose' any secrets or ghosts or some crap." The younger man shrugged.

"Oh shit I gotta get going. Freddy will get pissy if I'm late."

Eggs watched Mike go, mumbling a goodbye as Jeremy waved. Once alone, the blond sighed and put his leftovers in the fridge. "I'm getting some fucking sleep. You better sleep too kid."

"Yeah yeah. Just don't fall asleep on the couch again." Eggs teased him.

Jeremy smirked at him. "Shouldn't have bought an expensive, comfy couch."

He waved and went for his room. Eggs watched until he was gone before retiring to his own room. The large master bedroom was mostly empty since he hadn't had time to decorate. But he ignored it and went to the bathroom and opened the hidden hatch door in the tile. He hesitated. But with a sigh, he descended into it and decided he'd get sleep another night.

Xxxxxx

FFPS has come out, and Scott's seemingly ended the series. And it's given me a decent enough idea on how to finish my own.

Hopefully with more gasoline.


	2. Chapter 2

Warnings: violence, death, molestation, slurs (just one)

Xxxxxx

If there was something Mike enjoyed about being close friends with the official owner of Freddy Fazbear's, it was feeling like he now had a say in things. Even when it came to renovating. A couple months ago, the vintage show got their own show room, and Fredbear had been ecstatic. It was styled like the original restaurant and was a hit with kids and grandparents. It had been Mike's idea, and Eggs latched on to it immediately.

When Jeremy complained that the back room needed more space and a better counter, better tools, Eggs had them ordered the next day. Mark had been venting slightly to Eggs and Mike at lunch about how outdated the cook ware was and that was immediately fixed. The younger man took their complaints seriously, without argument and trusted their judgement since they had been around the restaurant longer.

It was something Mike had never had before. When he first befriended the animatronics (which seemed like a lifetime ago now) he worried about anything going wrong. If any incident happened again, his friends would be scrapped and destroyed and he'd be unable to help them. He knew they felt that same relief, he could see it in Freddy's eyes when Foxy's show went on, and it made him grateful that things had happened like they did.

But he had to admit, there were still things he wouldn't ever be able to accept.

His room was upstairs while Eggs and Jeremy had theirs downstairs. The other bedroom was now an office. Eggs tried to do most of his work at home but lately had been unable to for whatever reason. And that even counted his monthly calls to his father.

Mike hadn't meant to listen in. He had the day off but was awake late at night. He was a night owl from working third shift. He went for the kitchen to grab something to eat when he heard the familiar, skin crawling sound of William Afton's voice. He had frozen, staring at the slightly opened door and ended up eavesdropping as he stared in shock.

"-doin' real good there, kiddo. Been keeping up with everything and ya are a natural at this." William was saying. "I'm impressed."

"Thanks, Dad." Eggs responded softly.

"Cindy's missin' ya bad though. I dunno if she can wait a full year to see ya again."

The guard stopped breathing a moment. A year? What was this about a year? Had Eggs really promised to live with his father after a year? He felt sick and his blood went cold. He couldn't allow this. He knew what William would do to his friend if he returned to him; the disgusting man had made it clear the few times Mike had seen them interact.

Or maybe he was meant to visit William in a year. But if that happened, surely William wouldn't allow Eggs to return. The man was selfish. If he got what he wanted, he'd never let Eggs go. He'd find a way to trap him there.

Mike quietly left then. He never mentioned what he heard to anyone. Not even Jeremy. He didn't think the Engineer would be able to handle the information without having a giant fit. And he knew Eggs was stressed enough, he didn't want to add to it with the information that Mike knew. Obviously Eggs never told them for a reason. But there was someone he could confide in without worrying they'd tell anyone else, and that's exactly who he went to.

"I just don't understand…how could he think this is a good idea? He's seen what William's like." Mike said.

Freddy hummed, fingers drumming against his microphone. "You must remember Mike: human children are attached to their families even when they are less than trustworthy. We often see them here, hiding away from parents and yet unwilling to turn them in."

The guard sighed, running a hand through his hair. "But Eggs is an adult now. He has us, and Springtrap and the Funtimes. He can't be dumb enough to think his dad will change! He killed his adoptive parents almost instantly."

"I cannot pretend to know what he was thinking, Mike. But perhaps you should ask him?"

"But if he knows I found out, he might explode. He's going through enough." He shrugged and leaned against the wall of the bathroom area.

"Maybe so, but you are now worrying yourself. Seeing how you and Mr. Afton interact, I believe he would understand your concern." Freddy offered and gently put his large paw on the guard's shoulder.

He ended up thinking that over for a few days. And it was so obvious that it was gnawing at Eggs now that he realized it. The black haired boy would stare off at nothing at times, thinking hard, and there was a sadness to his eyes. Mike hated to think how long he'd been suffering alone. It was that thought that made him finally act.

"You got a second?"

Eggs paused. He glanced at Mike in confusion before looking around to see if there was anyone else with him. Finally he sighed and nodded. They went into Mark's office and closed the door, Mike thanking his stars that Mark was out on the floor doing something.

"Something wrong?" Eggs asked warily.

Mike hesitated. "I know about your deal with Afton."

Eggs stared at him blankly, but the older man could see him paling. His eyes shifted, panicking. Mike stood his ground. When neither of them said anything, the technician finally closed his eyes in resignation and sighed.

"How…?"

"I walked by your office at home and heard him. Why didn't you ever say anything?" He asked softly.

Eggs made a noise of disbelief. "Why do you think? I can't have you or Jeremy trying to stop me."

"So you planned on just disappearing off the face of the earth without a word?" Mike demanded. "We'd be sitting around, wondering what had happened to you! Haven't we both made it obvious we care about you? We'd never stop looking for you."

"…I know."

Eggs ran a hand over his eyes, glasses cockeyed as he seemed to try and breathe. Mike couldn't help but feel guilty. He didn't want to cause him any more stress. But Eggs had to know that he was there for him. Even if they often butted heads, they were friends. On some level, family. The mere idea of losing him hurt.

"Eggs…" Mike began gently. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to eavesdrop. But you gotta know I'm going to stop this. If he gets his disgusting hands on you, you'll never be free of him ever again."

"Mike, I'm…"

The guard let him take a moment. He gave a deep sigh and finally removed his hand from his face. He looked exhausted. There were dark lines under his eyes, his entire body seemed to sag. Mike worried about him collapsing.

"Mike, you need to understand something. Maybe at first, I thought…going back to him would be okay. That's why I made that deal. A year to fix things, and then I could live my life under his thumb. That way I'd…I dunno, make up for all the shit I've done." Eggs said.

"You haven't' done anything!" Mike argued.

"But I have no intention of doing so now." He went on like Mike hadn't said anything.

He paused. "Oh…."

"I've been fixing things…slowly, but surely. I'm trying to weed out any influence he had here. And then, on top of that, I'm trying to find out that…stuff he made. So he can't keep coming back."

"Stuff? What stuff?" Mike asked.

Eggs shrugged. "Some weird shit he put into me that healed me from the scooper."

It took the guard a moment to remember. The weird IV of liquid. William had mentioned that it would fix Eggs and refused to explain how he'd made it. But was that really the reason he had a function body after all this time? That seemed insane. Impossible. What would bring back a ghost and give them a physical form?

"And then?"

The younger boy frowned but met his eyes confidently. "Then I kill him."

The room went silent. Mike stared at him in shock. He hated to admit it, but the idea had often crossed his mind before. William was the lowest of the low. Molesting and killing small children, surrounding himself in the things he lusted for that were defenseless against him. But hearing Eggs say it, who was so young and had such hope for his father to turn around out of his genuine love for him…

"Alex…"

"I thought he could change, Mike. I really did. He looked me in the eye and promised me. But after my adoptive parents…" Eggs sighed. "And he was so confident that it would blow over. That I'd just get over his actions and we'd never have to talk about it again…I love him. I do. I love my Dad and my sister but the best thing I can do for him is kill him."

"But you're so young and…"

"I'm the one that let him go. I have to be the one that kills him." He said firmly.

"You're not a killer." Mike said.

At that, Eggs gave a laugh that sounded slightly hysterical. "You forget, it runs in the family."

Xxxxxx

Jeremy glared at the wall as he sat in Fritz's office. The red haired guard was sitting next to him, tapping his pen against his desk. He hated having to wait on someone else. He had shit he wanted to get done today and instead, here he was. Waiting on a new Engineer. One to work at either Baby's or the Toy Chest if he passed Jeremy's test and interview.

"He's fucking late." He grumbled but kept glaring at the wall.

"Yeah, yeah. He's also the only guy with a decent background that applied." Fritz answered in a bored manner.

The blond rolled his eye and turned to stare at him. "How's this shit hole doing anyway?"

"Pretty good! Fredrick and Bonblu are always getting into trouble and Chirp can't go a day without breaking something but…eh. Maria helps them keep in line."

"Good. Don't want you quitting. We're short enough people already."

Fritz grinned at that, laughing as he leaned back in his chair. "Thanks, I think."

Finally the door opened. Jeremy immediately moved his glare at the kid that walked in, not caring if he scared him off. The new guy sat down in front of the desk, eyeing the two of them. He was definitely a kid, maybe seventeen. Dark brown hair and amber eyes with dark skin. He had obsidian snake bites and matching gauges in his ears. Under his collared dark grey shirt were tattoos that covered every bit of skin.

"Kyle Hogers." He greeted in a lazy manner that instantly pissed Jeremy off.

"You're fucking late is what you are." He said.

Kyle raised an eyebrow. "Sorry, bus was late. Wait, you're supposed to ask if I have a reliable form of transportation, aren't you? Well shit…"

"Relax, we're pretty lax on that kinda stuff. Honestly if you can do what we need, you can work around your own schedule." Fritz offered.

"Unless you can't keep your worth." Jeremy added hotly.

The kid stared between the two of them. Finally, he shrugged. "Okay. So who are you guys? The bosses, managers?"

"I'm Fritz Smith. I'm the guard of this restaurant. Jeremy Fitzgerald here is our Head Engineer. He's the one that'll test you on your skills."

Jeremy huffed. What a waste of time. Even if this newbie was any good, why did they need him here? He'd rather be at the restaurant working. He had updates to give, asshole robots to clean. He wanted to see his asshole friends. Eggs McMuffin and he usually had lunch together if that dick had time, and Mike mentioned coming in for dinner before work.

"You're the guy that fixed up the robots right? The Fazbear animatronics? Dude, I came in to see your work! Especially that old model you fixed, it looked amazing. I showed pictures to my Professor and he agreed." Kyle suddenly burst out, eyes lighting up in excitement.

"Yeah, that's me." He mumbled.

The guy was familiar with his work? That was…weird. But Kyle seemed to light up at that and grinned. Jeremy wanted to be even more annoyed. He'd prefer it if the kid was a laid-back dick but instead, he was some fanboy. He tuned everything out as Fritz began going over the paperwork, not caring what his answers were.

"Jeremy, you want to go test him?" Fritz suddenly cut in.

"Sure. Come on."

Jeremy got up and began limping off. The Toy Chest was smaller than Fazbear's but only after the constant renovations the place had. He paused to make sure Kyle was following, glancing behind him, only for the shorter male to walk into him.

"Sorry! Are you okay?"

Jeremy glared down at him. "Walk on your own feet."

Kyle flushed in embarrassment. "Sorry, got distracted. What are you limping for anyway? You okay?"

"Fucking perfect."

He kept going and ignored the question. Nosy prick. He went into the backroom and locked the door behind the new guy. Sitting on the table, Maria perked up at their entrance. They waved enthusiastically but Jeremy pretended not to notice. Instead he set his toolbox out on the table next to them.

"Maria here is your test. Took off their tail earlier. Put it back on without hurting them." Jeremy instructed.

Kyle paused at that. "Hurt…them?"

"Maria here. The fucking white fox in front of you. You hurt them, I'll punch your goddamn nose in."

Maria waved again. "'Ello, Mr. Hogers! I be Maria, Second Mate to Cap'in Foxy."

"Hello, uh, Maria." Kyle greeted back, staring at the animatronic in amazement. "They have facial recognition, right? Is that how she-?"

"They." Jeremy corrected.

"-Knows my name?"

"Yeah. Scanned your face and your resume and shit are in the program now. Anyway, you gonna do this test or not? Cuz I have other shit I could be doing instead of this. Missing a date."

Kyle moved around the animatronic. He leaned forward, inspecting the area around the tail, the tail itself, and then what tools he had. Jeremy watched him closely. Eventually he began doing something. The blond looked between him and the robot for any signs of the other fucking up.

"How be the others?" Maria suddenly asked.

"Fine. Mike's trying to find another guard and Boss Man is constantly fucking busy." Jeremy said.

"Good! Th'Captain keeps me updated, but we miss things."

He shrugged. "They're fine. You shitheads would be the first one to know if we weren't."

Kyle peeked up at that. "How big are their RAM to be this intelligent?"

"Too big. They're annoying."

"Always so flatterin', this one." Maria teased, laughing. "Don't be intimidated none, kiddo! Jeremy's a lotta bark but no bite. He's soft as a kitten purr."

He rolled his eye at that. Finally, Kyle stopped what he was doing and motioned to the attached tail. Jeremy limped over. He inspected what he'd done and began a mental tally. The kid did good work, but he was slow. Seemed to be a perfectionist.

"What degrees you got?" He asked.

"Uh, my Bachelor's and working towards my Masters." Kyle answered.

Jeremy nodded. "Well, better than my own credentials…."

Maria's tail began wagging. "Is he hired then, Jeremy? Where they be puttin' him?"

"Fucking relax, there's other shit we gotta cover. Geez. Okay, Kyle, if you can stop taking a thousand fucking years, this could work. When we're working on these assholes, we gotta do it fast. Usually it's between shows." Jeremy explained.

Kyle beamed at that, eyes lighting up. "Holy shit, really?! I get to train under you?"

"If you knock that shit off yes." He grumbled.

"Awesome! I promise, I'll do whatever you need me to. I'm a fast learner, I swear, and if you guys don't mind me being part-time because of school…"

Jeremy shrugged. "Mark is our Manager, he was part-time until his promotion. It's fine."

The younger boy looked ecstatic at that. "You guys are fucking great! Thank you so much, I promise you, I'll be a great Engineer!"

They left the back room, Maria waving after them, and went back to the office. Fritz wasn't there but Jeremy took his seat anyway. "Okay so like I said. You gotta be faster than you are at working. If something happens between a show, you need to run in there, fix it, and then let the fuckers get back to what they're doing. There's also weekly maintenance and you'll have to memorize the blueprints to the other restaurant's animatronics so you can fix them just in case."

"So it's just you?" Kyle asked. "Does that mean I'll be shadowing you?"

"Yeah. But you need to stay out of my way." Jeremy said.

"Hey, I've graduated. I know how to properly shadow someone."

The blond sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Okay. I'll have you talk to Fritz or Mark about the important legal shit. When you can start. He'll let me know."

He stood up and limped over, offering his hand. He gave Kyle credit that the other managed to contain himself. He had a firm grip and rough hands from working with machines. They shook hands and even though the younger boy looked like he might explode, he kept his mouth shut.

"You'll likely meet the rest of the team later too. For now though, I gotta get to my date."

Kyle beamed up at him. "Thank you so much! I promise, I won't disappoint you!"

Jeremy mumbled something and left the room. He met Fritz out on the floor. "He good to go then, Jeremy? Thanks for doing this. We really need him. They're working you too hard."

"It's fine. Just glad you're not a nervous, whiny bitch anymore." Jeremy said teasingly.

Fritz glared at him, flushing. "Shut up. Geez. Anyway, you and I haven't hung out in a while. I think I still owe you dinner."

"I gotta get back to meet up with Alex McOmelet but we can after work."

Fritz grinned at that, looking relieved. Jeremy let him talk about shit that happened lately, knowing the other needed to ramble and get things off his chest. He and Mark talked a lot, but Fritz was intimidated by Eggs being their new boss (and likely his last name) so he tended to stay away from him and by extension, Jeremy and Mike.

Still, they talked like nothing had changed. Fritz was the voice of reason and logic in their group. Despite being surrounded by ghosts and spirits, he tended to be skeptic. And now that the Toys were friends with him, he was more confident as well.

"Are you sure you don't wanna come with me though? Eggs is fucking rich, he can afford buying you food."

Fritz laughed. "Nah, I don't wanna butt in. Me and Mark usually have plans since our breaks are at the same time. Maybe next week? If Michael…uh, Alex? Mr. Afton, is there too then he can definitely pay for me."

"If you insist."

Jeremy left as Fritz headed to talk to Kyle. He limped outside, pulling out a cigarette as soon as he was outside. He checked his phone and saw that Eggs was on his way, so he just stood there and smoked as he waited. He turned when the door opened. Kyle came out and pulled out his own cigarette, pausing when he noticed him.

"Light?"

Jeremy huffed and threw his lighter at him. The younger boy caught it, lighting his stick before giving it back. The two stood there for a bit not saying anything. Kyle eventually broke it as he exhaled.

"Sorry about…inside. I didn't notice the leg."

"Happens. Had a guy ask me if I served. Another asshole called me a queer. Kinda learn to take that shit in stride."

Kyle winced. "Ah. Always fun. Mama always bugged me with that too. She took it hard when I came out."

Jeremy shrugged. "One thing about Freddy's now…as fucking ridiculous as it sounds, we stick together. You do your goddamn job, you get treated right."

He noticed the other relaxed slightly at that. He finished off his cigarette before tossing it into a nearby trashcan. "Thanks. For the job, I mean. Never woulda thought I'd get to be a real Engineer…Family thinks I'm better off at a small auto shop."

"Then your family needs a fucking better idea of talent." Jeremy mumbled.

"Heh, maybe. Anyway, I need to go catch the bus. Gonna be a real pleasure working with you."

The blond watched him walk off down the street. When he finally turned the corner was when Eggs pulled up. Jeremy got in. He listened to the other as he began spitting about some bullshit that happened to him earlier. He glanced down the street but didn't see the new guy, so he just shrugged it off.

"Mike has the next couple days off. He asked if you did too, wanted a few hang out days. I can change your schedule if you want." Eggs offered.

"That sounds against the rules, Mr. Overeasy." Jeremy snipped back.

His boss laughed at that. "I make the rules, you forget. Do you want them or not? Should happen more now that we might have a new Engineer. Got a few other guards we're interviewing too. Might ease up the workload a bit."

"Would be fucking nice, that's for sure. Are you going to join us or are you too important?"

Eggs hesitated. "I don't have the time to take off…"

"Kid, you've been working nonstop. Just take one off and let us having a fucking time to ourselves. What's the point of being rich if you can't have some time off to enjoy it?" He asked, kicking back in the seat.

"…I'll see what I can do."

Content with that, Jeremy looked out the window. He pretended not to notice Eggs was distracted. He was a slow driver anyway, but now they were at a snail's pace. And it was obvious because Eggs was thinking about something. He had been for a few days, weeks even. Something that was taking up his entire attention constantly.

"Where we going anyway? Don't exactly feel like pizza."

Eggs paused, blinking, before he laughed. "How about something expensive? I've got the company credit card on me."

Jeremy perked up at that. "Fuck yeah, now we're talking! What's expensive around here? Italian? Let's go."

Xxxxx

Kyle is my fnaf 3 guard that likely won't show up anywhere else lol. Hope you all like him, he'll be a minor character since this isn't his story.


	3. Chapter 3

Tried something a little different this chapter. Hope you all enjoy it!

Xxxxxx

He should have seen this coming. Part of him wasn't surprised of course. As he sat there, partially listening to the TV as he fiddled with a new metal piece, he barely looked up when Cindy strolled into the living room. She less than carefully threw herself down next to him on the couch. He sent her a look of warning, his screwdriver scraping against the metal, and she just grinned at him.

"No." He said immediately.

"Aw, Daddy, you haven't even heard what I was gonna ask for!" She whined, pouting at him.

He huffed and gently flicked her nose, making her face scrunch up. "Whatever it is, no. Ya already got me working on shit for ya. I'm busy. Unless you want me puttin' this on hold?"

"No, but…" Cindy hesitated, rubbing her nose gingerly.

Figuring that was that, William went back to his work. He cursed when he accidentally snapped the screw he was working on through the metal, tossing it across the room angrily. He rubbed his brow in aggravation even as he reached out with a tentacle-like wire and picked up the broken piece. He began stripping it of screws and bolts as he realized Cindy hadn't left, watching him.

"Spit it out, unless you want me takin' out your voicebox."

Cindy frowned, playing with the hem of her dress. It was her favorite that he'd bought her recently, light pink with little lace kittens on it. Seeing her looking nervous, William sighed and put his work down and easily picked her up, seating her on his lap.

"What is it, Cindy?" He asked her softly.

"Daddy…" She leaned against his chest. Looked up at him with those big green eyes he loved so much. "Can I have a Mommy?"

He froze. "…Cindy-"

"I like being here with you, Daddy. I love you. But I miss having a family too. Caleb and Shawn and Alex…it's too empty with just the two of us. I know Mommy has gone off but maybe instead of getting me more books or a new body, you could get a new Mommy?"

He wondered about this. Even before everything turning to shit. When his wife left him, making vague promises about seeing the kids, he wondered if he should talk to them about having a new mother. Especially Shawn. His youngest was so sensitive and he hated the idea of Cindy growing up without a motherly touch.

But then he'd lost Shawn. Things spiraled off after that. He never had the chance to bring it up. But now, even after all these years, Cindy hadn't gotten the chance to mature. Being inside Baby, being underground with other child spirits, she was stuck still. So the conversation he'd prepped for so long ago now caught him off guard.

"Honey, it's not that easy right now." He tried to explain softly.

"Why not? Mommy always said you could find a new one!" She argued.

He winced at that but just sighed. "Cindy…we're in hidin' right now remember? We're dead to the rest of the world. We're tryin' to wait for Alex to join us. We can't just…have someone in and out of here."

"But…maybe you can just…grab someone?"

"Ya want me to kidnap some girl off the streets?" He deadpanned at her.

Cindy frowned but didn't argue. He suddenly wondered if she took maybe a little too much after him. William hugged her tightly as she sniffled. He ran his fingers through her soft hair before pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

"Sweetie, I promised Alex that I wouldn't hurt anyone else…remember?"

"Well, Alex isn't here! And he refuses to come live with us!" Cindy argued hotly. "I want a new Mommy! And I want a sister, I hate being the only girl. Maybe a little brother!"

William sighed. She pulled away from him, rubbing at her eyes as her lip quivered. He hated seeing her upset. After everything she'd gone through, she deserved anything she wanted. And yet, this wasn't something he could buy her or make. And grabbing someone off the streets was far too much effort when he was trying to keep them hidden away. Alex would be so pissed with him if he found out.

"Cindy…"

"No! I want it, Daddy! I want it, I want it, I want it, I want it!"

She stomped her foot each time. William narrowed his eyes at her, feeling his temper rising. "Cindy, knock that shit off. You ain't a brat."

"I want a Mommy! I want a family!" She shouted at him, face red and eyes glowing.

"Enough!" He stood up, snarling down at her as Cindy jumped in shock. "Stop being a spoiled brat and shut your mouth! I didn't raise ya like that. I want a family too, Cindy, but we need to take things slow."

She stared at him in fear, trembling before she started sobbing into her little hands. William instantly deflated. He sighed and knelt down with her, pulling her hands away and wiping away her tears. Cindy sniffled and began calming down as he wiped her hair from her eyes.

"Sweetie, I'm sorry. But ya don't always get what you want."

She met his eyes briefly, giving a nervous little nod. William let her go as she ran off for her room. He sighed. Not exactly how he'd hoped for that discussion to go, but what could he do? Cindy needed to learn that she couldn't always get what she wanted. Shaking his head, he went back to what he was working on and decided to give her some space.

Xxxxxxxx

"Jeremy, Omelet's here. You wanna introduce Kyle here to him?"

Jeremy paused, pulling away from Chica. "Yeah, sure, whatever. I don't think he needs me holding his hand like a goddamn babysitter."

Mark gave him a look from the doorway. "Just do it, okay? Not everyone can just saunter up to the big boss like you can. Mike's also waiting on you. Did you get Chica's upgrades done?"

Kyle, who'd been standing off to the side watching, waved a hand at that. "All's good, Mr. Pliers! We're just finishing up. I can do Freddy and Bonnie after the meeting since Jeremy's leaving."

"If they let you…" Mark mumbled.

"They fucking better because I'm sick of doing the work of three people." Jeremy snapped.

He cleaned off his hands on a rag, keeping an eye on Kyle as the younger boy unplugged Chica from the computer. The trainee was good. He had steady hands and he definitely knew his computers and robot. It made the blond man feel better that he was going to take over some of his responsibilities. Especially since the assholes themselves were so much work.

"You seem to be friends with everyone." Kyle pointed out.

"Been here since the beginning. I just know all the people I need to." Jeremy shrugged, turning Chica back on. "Mark was a guard before he was a manager. And Mike's our head Guard. Boss Man, well, knew him before he took over the company."

"Been sleeping your way to the top huh?"

Jeremy glared at him, but Kyle just gave him a cheesy grin. He was obviously kidding, but there had been rumors going around that made the comment feel two-sided. He sighed. From working together the past few days, he could tell the other Engineer was a good kid. He worked hard, he kept to himself, and he did as told. He wasn't some slacker they needed to worry about.

"Legs spread and pants down." He tossed back and Kyle burst out laughing.

They left from the back room. The entire staff was sitting at the party tables waiting as Eggs stood on the stage. Jeremy glanced around and spotted Mike sitting nearby. He sat next to him and didn't mind when Kyle followed. Mike grinned at him, bumping his elbow in Jeremy's side as the meeting started.

"I feel like we've cheated. Heard all this meeting bullshit last night." Jeremy whispered.

"I think it is cheating. Careful, I might report your dastardly ways to Mark." Mike teased.

He rolled his eye. "You're a fucking idiot."

"Hey, language. None of that on the floor. Kids might hear."

He heard Kyle giggle at that, but when he turned to glare at him, the younger man was straight faced and staring ahead. He caught Mike grinning still but just huffed. Assholes. He crossed his arms and leaned back against the table as Eggs kept rambling about bullshit on stage, going through a paper full of company crap.

"Have you talked to Jill at all?" Jeremy suddenly found himself asking.

Mike looked surprised at that. "Huh? No, why?"

"Might be good for him."

"…Now that you mention it, yeah…" The guard frowned, rubbing at the back of his neck. "I hadn't thought of that. Do you think he's tried to get in contact with her at all?"

"Fuck no. He's an idiot. He probably never put it together that she might still be alive once he realized Scott died." Jeremy mumbled.

The meeting came to an end and Jeremy stood up. He motioned for Kyle to follow him. He limped over to where Eggs was talking to a few other employees. They waited their turn, Kyle watching curiously as he watch the boss talking and taking complaints from the others. Finally Eggs noticed them and he quick walked over.

"Hey, is this one of the new guys?"

"Kyle Hogers, Engineer in training. Nice to meet you!" Kyle greeted, offering his hand with a wide smile.

Eggs raised an eyebrow but shook his hand. "You too. I'm Michael Afton, CEO and Owner of Fazbear Entertainment. Most people call me Alex."

"He's taking over for me today, so if any fuck ups happen. Not my problem." Jeremy said.

Kyle stiffened, eyes wide but Eggs just snorted. "He's new, it's fine. Doesn't explain all the problems we have with you around though, Mr. Experienced."

"Ha ha ha."

"I'm glad your part of the team now though, Kyle. Now I don't have to worry about Jeremy working himself to death." Eggs chuckled, shrugging as he stared up at the newbie. "Once you think you can handle things on your own, we'll let you pick which location you'd prefer to work at. This place is Jeremy's baby of course, but the Toy Chest and Baby's need an Engineer."

"I can pick? Awesome." Kyle said.

"I'd wanna work at Baby's. Ballora is nice on the eyes." Mark cut in, smirking.

"She can also turn you into a pretzel." Eggs pointed out.

Kyle made a face. "Uh, no thanks."

"Any word on a new guard?" Jeremy asked.

The blond frowned when the other man sighed. "I dunno…one guy has been less than reliable and there's a lady we're interviewing tomorrow but she has no experience. I mean, that's not a huge problem but I think our reputation is holding people back from applying."

"Maybe if you raised the pay for a new guard, you could promote someone here?" Mark offered.

"I'll think it over. Anyway, meeting's over. Jeremy, you and Mike can go home. I still have some stuff to take care of at Baby's and then I'll be stopping by the office. I should be home about…six or seven." Eggs went on.

"Sure thing, McMuffin."

Jeremy waved half-heartedly and walked away, letting Mark and Eggs talk. Kyle trailed after him, brow furrowed. "What, Newbie?"

"…Why would you care when he gets home?" he asked.

"We're roommates. Me, Mike and him all live together."

Kyle raised an eyebrow. "Wow, okay then…Uh, so…is he single?"

Jeremy froze, confused, and Kyle nearly talked into him. He saw Mike looking at them in confusion. "I don't…maybe… _what_?"

"Is he single? He's cute." Kyle mumbled nervously.

"Yes, but…"

Mike nudged him, making Jeremy jump slightly. "He is but you might wanna take it slow. He's gone through some…tough shit."

"Putting it fuckin' lightly…" Jeremy grumbled.

"We'll get out of your way though, Kyle. If you need any help, or you have a question, just ask Mark. He has our numbers so if it's something we can help with, we will." Mike said.

"Thanks! I'm sure I'll be fine though." Kyle waved them off and headed for the back room.

Jeremy watched him go before turning to Mike. "Caught me off guard."

"I could see that. You had the weirdest look on your face." Mike teased, poking his cheek. "Kyle's gay then, huh? He must trust you to tell you that already. You've only worked with him a few times."

"He mentioned it after he got hired. Not that big of a deal. Just don't know about Eggs. Kid doesn't seem interested in anything but work and robots." Jeremy grumbled.

They began walking to Mike's car. The brown haired man hummed and dropped the subject until they pulled out on to the street. "Let's grab something to eat. Eggs mentioned picking up dinner but I'm starving."

"Sure."

They drove in silence for a while. Jeremy stared out the window, thinking, before he got sick of the quiet. Frowning, he glanced over at Mike briefly.

"Do you think the kid would be into guys? After…fuck, everything he's gone through?"

Mike looked confused a moment. "I dunno…I never asked."

"Shit's gotta be hard, right? Finding out your Dad wants to bone you and all that…"

Not the most delicate way of putting it. Jeremy cursed himself a moment as Mike winced. "Well, being molested has to mess with you right? But I've never had to think about it myself."

The Engineer hummed, giving it a moment. "My doctor mentioned once that losing my frontal lobe could turn me into a sex crazed maniac. I dunno why it never fucking did, but…kinda always wondered if it was cuz of what he did."

Mike's fingers flexed and went white on the steering wheel. "You mean what William did?"

"Yeah. I can't remember it all clearly but…" He trailed off before sighing. "Hate to think that fucker has any control over anything I do. But he does. Probably something you'd see a therapist for, right?"

"It couldn't hurt." The guard offered.

Jeremy nodded mindlessly. Without realizing it, he was staring at Mike as he thought. The small bits and pieces he remembered of that night so long ago left him feeling nauseous. William was so touchy and clinging and he wasn't sure why he'd ever once thought the asshole would leave him alone. The selfish prick couldn't help himself.

"Do I have something on my face?" Mike asked, cutting through the fog.

Jeremy blinked, realizing what he'd been doing and huffed. "Got…caught up in shit. Anyway, where are we going? I want at least three burgers."

"You'll never eat them all, I'm not wasting the money. And don't waste your appetite before Eggs gets home with dinner, he'll be so upset-"

Jeremy wasn't sure what brought the urge on that moment. But he stared off when the thought occurred to him and Jeremy snapped over to the other side of the car. Mike nearly lost control as he swerved in shock, eyes wide as Jeremy kissed the corner of his mouth. The guard slammed on the breaks, ignoring the car horn behind him, and stared at Jeremy as the blond pulled back.

"What was that?" He demanded, face red.

"Kiss." Jeremy said.

"No shit! You….We could've been killed!" Mike snapped. He then took in a deep breath before slowly letting it out. "Jeremy…why did you do that?"

"Because if I decided tomorrow that kissing dudes isn't for me, you wouldn't take it fucking personally! And I can trust you enough to…I dunno, just not…not _use_ me." He answered hotly, feeling defensive.

Mike frowned at that. "No offense, but this isn't just about you, you know."

"We're best friends, ain't we? I mean, sorry if I fucked up, but I just…"

"Jeremy, I like you." Mike cut in softly. His blue eyes were wet as he stared at the blond man. "I've never once clicked with anyone like you and I did. Being best friends, brothers….boyfriends, I don't care but I don't want you to lash out just because you're feeling confused. Talk to me."

"There you go with that fucking rational talk." Jeremy grumbled. "…Wanna take a chance at this shit with me? I have no fucking idea what I'm doing."

Mike smiled at that. "Course. Just maybe next time, don't surprise me on the road, okay?"

Jeremy almost felt sheepish at that, huffing as Mike continued driving. As they finally arrived at the drive-thru of some fast food place Mike liked, the blond man reached out across the console. He felt like a moron as he laced their fingers together to hold hands

Xxxxxx


	4. Chapter 4

Eggs was flipping through a booklet with a few stockholders; a raise moment of peace for him. The truly despicable ones were finally gone, leaving only fairly greedy businessmen in their wakes. But now they were trying to find new ways of getting customers into the restaurants, like adding new robots. Eggs knew he could likely build them himself but he was so busy lately. Perhaps a project for Jeremy once Kyle trained?

"And these were ideas from my father?" He asked carefully.

"Some of them, yes. Partially mine as well." Henry piqued up.

Eggs nodded. "We could do some testing and research…Maybe have some of the orphans come and give their thoughts on some of these."

Henry nodded. "We've also gone over the idea of a pay raise for more guards…"

"We need something. If we were to be inspected in such a state, we'd be shut down." Simon pointed out as he pulled out some papers from a file. "The Toy Chest only has Mr. Smith, we're relying completely on Mr. Fitzgerald for repairs in all three locations, and we can't keep making Mr. Schmidt pull double shifts. He's gone well over his overtime."

The young CEO sighed, running a hand through his hair. "What of the interviews?"

"Ms. Nasen has passed her interview despite having no experience, and Mr. Smith currently has three more interviews lined up for the coming week."

"Good. We might have to hire them just out of necessity. They can learn as they go." Eggs mused. He then leaned back in his seat, thinking. "Jaeger, you had new ideas for toys didn't you?"

"Yes, sir. Especially since Baby's has exceeded her popularity with her own location. Ballora and Toy Chica are raising in numbers with how much little girls like them, and of course, nothing sells better then merch with Freddy on it. We should broaden from just little toys and plushies."

"I'll let you put some samples together then. Bring them to me in two weeks." Eggs told them.

He then tried to mentally tick down what else he wanted to discuss. That was the most serious of the discussions. He noticed some of the guys shifting, clearly having something to say, and he mentally rolled his eyes. They always complained about minimal things that he honestly didn't care about. He wondered if he could get out of it somehow.

"Mr. Afton, you have an urgent call on line two."

Eggs paused, blinking, before he glanced over at his phone on his desk. "Can it wait?"

Ballora's music box laugh came over the speaker. "If it could, I would have waited until you were free."

Fair enough. He motioned towards his office door. "Gentleman, if you would excuse me."

They quickly left. He tried not to look too relieved. "Okay, Ballora. Who is it?"

"Mr. Pliers, he said it was urgent."

Eggs frowned at that. Mark? What was so urgent he'd call in the middle of the day? Confused, he quickly switched over to the appropriate line. "Mark?"

"You KNEW didn't you?! How could you not have told me? Do you have any idea what I've been going through the past five hours from these assholes?!" Mark snarled at him.

He took a deep breath before responding. "Mark, what are you talking about?"

"Mike and Jeremy! Don't play innocent with me! You could have given me some kind of warning. Bonnie and Chica have been insufferable and don't get me started on Freddy!"

"Pliers if you keep screaming at me like that you won't have a job to worry about." Eggs hissed back at him. He gave the other man a moment to calm down before continuing. "What about Mike and Jeremy?"

Mark made a noise. "You…really didn't know?"

"Know _what_?!"

"Mike and Jeremy…apparently they're together now? Mike came in just, beaming, and was telling Chica all about it. Now the robots are just losing their shit because no one's good enough for Mike."

Eggs stared down at his desk, frozen. Together? What did that mean? It took him a moment before he realized what Mark meant. They were… _together_. When did that happen? He'd just seen them the other night. They hadn't mentioned anything, hadn't seemed overly affectionate. He felt his heart thumping painfully in his chest as he leaned back in his chair.

"Eggs? Hey, Omelet, what's wrong?" Mark asked.

"They didn't tell me." He finally managed to say.

"Y-yeah, me either…not too surprised, right? They always seemed oddly close…" Mark chuckled at that. His previous anger long forgotten. "I assumed you knew though since you live with them."

"No. Not a thing…"

Eggs swallowed roughly. Part of him wasn't surprised. He knew Jeremy and Mike had a close connection as friends. They told each other everything. The fact that Mike hadn't told Jeremy about his dad was surprising enough. He was lucky enough to be part of that at all. But he was hurt too. Why didn't they tell him? That had to be happy news, why not share it with their roommate and friend?

"Eggs? Seriously, what's up? Did I call in the middle of something?" Mark asked him in a rush.

"No, you just caught me off guard. Really. I guess I'll have to ask them tonight when I get home."

Mark chuckled. "Get as many details as you can. Freddy's driving me up the wall. I almost asked Kyle to turn him off."

"Right. Details. I'll see you later."

He hung up the phone before the other could argue. Staring at it blankly as he rubbed his forehead. Why hadn't they told him? Did they not trust him? Or did it just slip their mind? They were likely celebrating their newfound affection. Maybe too busy making out to consider their roommate. He sighed, feeling a sudden overwhelming feeling of annoyance and anger.

"I'm an idiot…"

Xxxxxx

"Mike, you getting ready to leave? You want any coffee?"

Mike glanced over at Jeremy, grinning as he continued putting dinner leftovers away. "I wouldn't mind some, yeah. Since when do you make me coffee before work?"

"Since we started wildly fucking in our pastime." He shot back.

He laughed at that. "When did that happen, cuz I think I was asleep for it."

"Oh sorry. You looked pretty tired, so I just did my thing and crept back to my room."

The guard rolled his eyes playfully as Jeremy smirked at him. He felt his heart racing in his chest when the blond Engineer limped over and gave him a chaste kiss on his cheek. He felt his face getting warm. He was still getting used to the small, random bursts of affection that they were sharing. Jeremy was more comfortable initiating, he got tense when Mike snuck up on him. They were learning as they went.

"When's Eggs gonna get home? He seems pretty late." Jeremy suddenly asked.

Mike shrugged, untangling himself from the other man. "You know he's been working late. He's dealing with a lot of bull."

Jeremy hummed, watching his back as he closed the fridge. He began pouring the coffee into a thermos as Mike reached for where his hat was hung up near the door. Peeking at the blond, he noticed he put the exact amount of sugar and cream into it that he always did and hid a smile. How had he even noticed such a thing?

"Want me to pick up anything on my way home?" He asked instead.

Jeremy shrugged as he stirred the coffee and creamer. "We could use more milk and between me and McMuffin, we're out of painkillers. Could definitely use more."

"I'll stop by the dollar store then. Can get a gallon of milk. Might pick up something else. We haven't had any ice cream in this household in weeks." Mike said.

"What a goddamn fucking outrage." Jeremy teased.

The blond gave him a kiss on the mouth, chuckling, and Mike felt like he was floating. He couldn't help grinning into it. He kissed back and hugged him tightly. Jeremy stiffened under his hold. He tended to do be odd about physical affection. But he relaxed when Mike pressed a kiss against the circular scars on his forehead, grumbling under his breath.

"I gotta go before I'm late. If you see Eggs, make sure you tell him okay?"

He made for the door the same moment it opened. Eggs stared up at him a moment, glancing between him and Jeremy. He looked exhausted, more so than usual, but he looked…off. Seeing the two of them, Eggs scowled and made a noise in his throat as he stepped around him.

"About to get to work, huh?"

"Yeah. Woke up late so I should…"

Mike trailed off at the oddly hostile tone. He glanced back at Jeremy and noticed the blond was staring at them as well.

"What's crawled up your ass this fine night, Eggs?" Jeremy asked casually.

"Is this seriously going to interfere with your jobs already?" Eggs snapped at them, arms crossed. "Because forgive me if I'm pissed that I get screamed at during a board meeting by Mark creaming his pants over you two fucking."

"We haven't fucked yet." Jeremy pointed out.

Mike sheepishly rubbed his neck. "Sorry about that…I didn't think he'd know, I didn't tell him yet."

"And now you're leaving late? While I walk in from another night of overtime and find you two flirting in the kitchen? This is ridiculous already!" The youngest hissed at them.

"Okay seriously kid, you're going to give yourself an aneurism. Stop." Jeremy cut in.

Eggs gritted his teeth, swallowing back something before he stomped his foot, slammed a hand against the counter, and shoved past the two for his room. Jeremy made a face as Mike watched him go. He wanted to go after him. Whatever was bothering him, it was clearing getting to him. But he was already almost late, so he just sent Jeremy a pleading look and hurried off for his car.

Eggs sat on his bed. He didn't bother with the lights or the TV. Why did it bother him so much? Why was he so upset? He felt ridiculous. Growing up, he always thought himself as rational and unemotional. Slowly, that had been undone because of Baby's. He had been pushed to the edge, and then learning of his childhood trauma, he'd been broken down. But he always thought at least he'd never lashed out without reason.

And yet here he was.

"What's wrong with me?"

"There's nothin' wrong. You're acting like any kid would."

He swallowed. "But I'm not a kid anymore…and the first thing I did was call _you_."

He heard the other man chuckle at that. There was a clinking of metal on metal and he could easily picture him at his workbench, working on something as he held the phone between his shoulder and ear. Or with the many tentacles he now had crawling through his body.

"Course ya did. Why wouldn't ya call me when your upset?"

Eggs sighed at that, leaning back against the headboard. "Seriously though, why am I acting like this? I'm…throwing a tantrum…"

"You've always been good at recognizing this stuff. That's why ya were such a good kid. But I'm not surprised. They didn't bother tellin' ya. Feels like they betrayed your trust, right?"

"Yeah…"

"Kiddo, I was heartbroken when Scotty introduced me to his girlfriend. I get it. Ya just need to give it some time, maybe they'll come to you." William went on.

The technician nodded even though his dad couldn't see it. "Why didn't they tell me though, Dad?"

"Because to a couple of new lovebirds, ya weren't even a thought in their brain. They'll never understand why ya are hurt. But that just proves to ya where their priorities lay, Alex."

He winced at that. He wanted reassurance when he called him, which was ridiculous of course. But he didn't want to hear about how Mike and Jeremy would turn on him and how he needed to return home with them. He shook his head, rubbing his eyes.

"Dad, please…"

"Okay, okay. I'll stop. But ya know if you need help…" William said.

Eggs managed to laugh at that. "I know, okay? But…but, thanks for…this."

He heard the clinking stop at that. William sighed. "Alex, ya know you're the most important thing in the world to me. I'd stop everything if ya needed me. Okay?"

"Okay. Thanks, Dad…I, uh, I'll call again when I can." He promised.

He hung up then, staring out the window. They hadn't thought of him, huh? Too busy celebrating their newfound relationship with each other. That…made sense. He sometimes did so when he remembered that he now had Mike and Jeremy in his life, had the robots that would literally kill for him. He guessed he could understand them being too invested in each other.

They hadn't even told Mark. Mike had only told the animatronics.

"Maybe being an asshole runs in the family too…" He grumbled.

Xxxxx

"His name is The Storyteller Cadet. He was where kids would gather round, with their tokens, and get special stories. Mostly for the more…curious types. We stopped production however when Foxy got popular since there was no need for another storyteller."

Eggs circled around the large robot. It was covered in dust, parts were rusted, and the colors had long since faded away. Next to him, Henry was looking over notes. He only partially listened to him. Functions could change. He didn't care about what the thing was designed to do, he only cared about what he could make it into.

"His head looks like a giant wrapper…" Eggs mused.

Henry gave him a curious look. "I guess."

"Let's change him. Give him vibrant colors and…" He paused, staring at the claw-like hands it had. "Make it dispense candy. Couple tokens, randomize the amount of candy each time. Kids like that kind shit."

"Any idea for names?" His partner asked.

The younger man hummed. "Call him the Candy Cadet. Merge the two uses. Easy enough. We'll put him in Baby's or the Toy Chest, Freddy's is too crowded for something this big. Look at the books and see who needs the boost."

"Michael." Henry stopped him, brushing his slowly greying blond hair from his face. "You've been sneaking into the old rental below, haven't you? I may have given you all rights to the place, but I still get some notifications."

Eggs eyed him warily. "And?"

"What is it your looking for? Whatever it is, please…let me help. You can't keep taking everything on yourself like this. You're too young."

He huffed at that, managing a noise like a laugh. "Now you think so, huh? You were more than happy to heave this shit off on to me before! Let me clean up his mess, _your_ mess, and you get to keep your cushiony job making money!"

Henry hesitated. "I lost so much, Michael-"

"I did too! I lost **everything** to this fucking place!" Eggs yelled at him, shoving his hand off him. "Don't you sit there and act like that justifies anything. How many years did you sit back, hoping that this shit worked, wanting to bring your kids back? Who cared how many died, so long as you got your family back? You're no better than him."

Silence rang out in the empty, dusty warehouse. Eggs was breathing hard. He wanted so badly to wrap his hands around Henry's throat, blame _him_ for everything. He had been holding back his feeling on Henry's involvement in thing because he needed him, and he was sick of it.

"I want him stopped." Henry finally admitted.

"Fucking late to the party then aren't you?" Eggs sneered at him. He rolled his eyes and turned back to the other huge, hulking figures in the room. "I've got this."

Henry turned away at that. He ran his hands along what had once been a workbench. Eggs found one massive figure with symbols and was trying to think if such a thing could be used at the restaurants. They really didn't have any instruments anymore. Bonnie and Spring were the only real exceptions. Even Bonblu had long since stopped using his guitar.

"You need him to stop coming back." Henry finally said in the silence.

Eggs stopped. "What's the point in killing him if he just keeps returning, stronger than before?"

There was a noise. Eggs stiffened, turning towards him, ready for some kind of weapon. But instead, Henry was holding a small cassette tape. It was old, outdated. He held it out, offering it, but made no move towards the younger man.

"Then let's put an end to that." Henry begged him, brown eyes shining.

Xxxxxx


	5. Chapter 5

Warnings; incest, child abuse, violence, sexual content

Xxxxxxx

"Why was Mommy replaceable?"

He paused at her question. It had obviously caught him off guard, and despite herself, Cindy found herself impressed. She had never thought she could ever do that. Daddy was always cool and collected and she'd never seen him break apart. Only when Shawn had been dangling from Fredbear's mouth, gurgling blood pathetically, and because of Baby, she could see his expression when he gazed at her own broken parts that couldn't be called a body.

Daddy loved them. Loved them more than anyone else ever would in the world. She and Baby knew that so deeply, that hurting the little ones was going to be worth it because they'd be reunited eventually. Cindy had spent their time in the dark, between the shocks and prods and the scooper, telling Baby about having a family. Brothers, a Mommy, a Daddy, a home.

Baby, sometimes Ennard, asked her what it was like. Why love made the blood okay. And Cindy had trouble telling them because it was so natural. Second nature. **Human**. Daddy thought he hid himself well, but Mommy once commented how much she acted like him. She would watch him, see things she wasn't meant to see. Daddy was at his happiest among children, and he loved watching the way they went cold in the backroom.

"Replaceable isn't the right word." He said.

"It's the one Mommy used." She pointed out.

Cindy sat on his workbench, legs swinging, as she watched him. Daddy was working on a new body for her, one that was more adult-like. She didn't like being so little anymore. Not after seeing Alex. And it was weird after being Baby so long; she was used to being the tallest thing in the room.

He heaved a sigh and stared at her a moment. She smiled back. "Ya mom was...unique because she gave me you. She gave me your brothers."

"But you could get a new one once she left right?" Cindy asked, staring at her feet. Talking was sometimes hard for adults, but Daddy was calm and together. He never broke apart like the employees of Circus Baby's Rental. "Why didn't you? Do you think it would've saved Shawn?"

She heard Ennard laughing beneath Daddy's skin and the way his eyes changed, the fusion of brains likely was saying something to him. She could no longer hear it and the fact made her sad. "I dunno. Maybe."

"But why _didn't_ you?" She repeated. Her voice was whining slightly despite herself.

"Didn't wanna be tied down so fast. Had more fun that way." He grinned and she laughed with him, remembering peeking in on him and a few of the waitresses wrestling _(having sex_ ) on his desk at work. She had stared as long as she dared, a confusing jumble of feelings rising inside of her.

"Ballora used to complain about all the daddy's that would rent her. Sometimes the mommies were there too, watching...That kind of fun?" She asked.

"Better than that. Ya mom used to be so much fun...That's why I liked her. But she didn't like the reality of what havin' kids meant." He paused, staring at her hard a moment. "You three were the most important thing that happened to me. And she wanted ya killed. Begged me to let her. She hated me once I told her no."

"How come?" Cindy asked softly.

"Cuz havin' a baby so young meant she couldn't...have fun alone I guess. I dunno, she was so much younger than me. I didn't understand her sometimes, most woman woulda loved havin' a man to father her kids."

Cindy nodded. Some part of her agreed; she remembered woman gathered together to complain about men who left them and their kids while she sang for them on stage. She remembered little kids whispering to her about wanting their dads back in their life, because their mom was so sad and lonely. Baby and Ballora and Foxy knew better, understood better, and part of Cindy got it. She understood child support and yet she still understood ponies and make believe just as much. It got confusing sometimes, made her dizzy, but she was getting better at juggling the two.

Daddy smiled at that and rubbed his calloused knuckles against her cheek. She loved the small rubs, the little touches. It reminded her that she was finally alive again and she was finally with her Daddy after so long alone.

"Ya only askin' cuz you still want a new mom, aren't you?" He teased her.

"I didn't bring it up." Cindy said smugly. "You did."

He rolled his eyes at her. Daddy kissed her forehead and Cindy giggled. Feeling mischievous, she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him. Daddy gave her an exasperated look but didn't remove her. Instead, he wrapped his arms around her back, hugging her tightly and laying his cheek on her head.

"Maybe Alex can be the new Mommy." Cindy offered.

She heard him shifting, swallowing. "I think Alex wouldn't be so happy with that."

"But you would! Right? You always loved him differently…"

"I want him happy. Happy and home with us…" Daddy said, fingers stroking her hair.

That didn't make sense, part of her acknowledged. Alex wouldn't be happy here with them, he'd made that clear any time she spoke with him. But she stubbornly refused to listen to that part of her brain. She wanted him here, with his family, so she could have her big brother again and so Daddy wouldn't look so sad and lonely.

Love meant making sacrifices. And after the long years spent inside Baby, torn between Baby, Cindy and Ennard, she'd made her sacrifices. She didn't think living with the two people that loved him more than anything was so bad, even if Daddy's odd desires for something from Alex came forward. Daddy loved Alex so completely. He should be happy to be here with them. Should be grateful that Daddy wanted him around, wanted to press him into the bed or desk and wrestle him ( _fuck him_ ) like those waitresses she watched. She never saw them or Mommy complain when they left the bedroom or office afterwards.

"He can be the Mommy anyway. He promised to be here and he's not, so it's the least he can do!" She argued.

Daddy's eyes were far away when she looked at him again. He was staring off at a patch of wall, but she could only imagine what he was thinking about. Having Alex here, in his arms instead? Both of them? Alex in the kitchen like Mommy used to do? Or was he daydreaming about the other things?

Baby and all of the animatronics were programmed to know about puberty. Just in case something happened to the children. Being touched, a reaction, a rush of hormones and emotions that they wanted explained. Ballora always had the mosts reactions, and despite herself, Baby found it funny. And Cindy had found it...envying.

With her own body, she could begin to understand why. Watching TV shows and movies, seeing people in love, in lust, she began to understand why certain people would request Ballora, but others would want Baby or Foxy. Sometimes even Freddy, though his uses tended to stick to kids most of the time. It began clicking together like a puzzle she'd lost the pieces of but found again locked away.

Daddy loved Alex. Daddy wanted Alex to be his wife, she believed, the new Mommy to their family. The thoughts haunted him, she could see it clearly even though he tried so hard to hide it from her. But she knew why he'd wander into town alone, usually late into the night. Maybe someone in town could pass for Alex. But the idea of Daddy having to _settle_ for some lookalike, someone who wasn't Alex, made her feel a deep burning hatred and rage that she'd never have if she hadn't been Baby once.

But then a thought hit her. She stiffened in his arms, making Daddy snap out of his thoughts. He pulled away in concern. A question was forming as she suddenly beamed up at him, green eyes glowing intensely with the LED lights that made up her eye sockets.

"Daddy!" She leaned forward, wanting to share her secret idea. "Daddy, can **I** be the Mommy?!"

He froze. Stopped breathing (they didn't need to anyway), stopped blinking, the question dying on his tongue. The only thing that didn't stop was the hum of the machine inside his chest, Ennard reacting to her question, but she still couldn't hear him. She smiled up at Daddy's pale eyes but it slowly faded from her face when he still didn't react with overjoyed enthusiasm.

"...Daddy?"

He heaved a breath of stale warm air. "Cindy, honey...what…?"

"I can be the Mommy...so you don't have to go looking for one!" Cindy grinned, playfully shaking his shoulders in her excitement. "At least until you find someone else or until Alex comes home. And...and you always said we should learn to share!"

Daddy's face changed slowly. The hunger in his eyes was becoming more pronounced. His hands slid from her back to holding her shoulders as he met her eyes seriously, more serious than she'd seen him in such a long time.

"Cindy...ya can't know what you're askin'."

"I'm not a baby anymore, Daddy. I didn't magically get turned off when some of the technicians rubbed on Baby, and…" She hesitated, face turning pink in shame. "And I might have watched you and Mommy a few times."

He raised an eyebrow curiously at that but didn't question it. "And ya wouldn't...mind?"

Cindy eagerly shook her head. She remembered the women that would stare after Daddy at work. Waitresses, cooks, a few customers that lamented how lucky she was to be his daughter, to have his attention and good looks. How jealous they were of her Mommy. How excited they were if someone mentioned Daddy was divorced and single now.

The glint in his eye sharpened. A dark smile spread across his face, hands cupping both her cheeks in his calloused fingers. If Cindy still had a heart it would've been racing then. Odd feelings were rushing through her, confusing ones, but she ignored it. Daddy was happy. He seemed excited and eager and so very happy, and all of that was aimed at her.

"Oh baby girl…" He whispered, fingers stroking her face. He licked his lips. "If...if ya wanna stop, at any time…"

She nodded. She wouldn't ever tell him to stop anything, because she loved him, but she was curious what he meant. Why would she want to stop? Wrestling seemed fun, and Mommy always returned to Daddy to wrestle and she was the Mommy now.

"I'm selfish, sweetie, so selfish…" He eyes raked over her and she squirmed in his grip; his gaze left her skin warm in its trails and she wondered if it was his intensely glowing eyes that caused such a thing. "But can I ask ya for...just one thing more?"

"What?" She asked him, knowing she'd agree no matter what it was.

The way he smiled told her he knew it too. "Just...keep callin' me 'Daddy' okay?"

Xxxxxx

Mike yawned as he sat in his usual chair, feet kicked up on the desk. He sipped his thermos of coffee, pausing when he realized Jeremy had added a little too much sugar. Likely because he was distracted. They still hadn't managed to talk to Eggs about why he'd flipped out, and he was clearly avoiding them.

"Is it cold?" Chica asked suddenly, peeking in from the door. "I can put it into the microwave if you want!"

"I bet Jeremy poisoned it." Bonnie added darkly.

Mike glared at them. "Lay off Jeremy, guys."

"If he truly loved you, he'd make better coffee." Freddy said as he stomped by. Mike gave him a dry look that he ignored. "Now come you two, we have a birthday to ready for."

Chica pouted as Bonnie grumbled and followed the bear. They both gave the Head Guard a pleading look but he just pointed sternly. They went on their own and Mike was left alone. It was a rare time for work. He was usually surrounded by the animatronics at night, but birthdays meant they prepped the pizzeria.

Mike sighed and continued drinking his coffee. Once he decided he'd had enough caffeine to keep himself awake, he got up and headed into the Dining Room. Springtrap and Fredbear looked up from their area. Seeing him, they waved and he did so back. He continued, peeking into Pirate Cove. Foxy was cleaning up the large ship for tomorrow, not noticing Plushtrap hiding in the Crow's Nest above and eyeing a few ropes that were tying up the sail.

"When are you going to tell the humans about your mate?" Springtrap suddenly asked.

Mike almost jumped. "Mate…? Oh, you mean about me and Jeremy? I dunno. It's not really that important they know."

" **Isn't it a big deal when humans make such a connection?"** Fredbear asked.

Mike flushed at that, huffing as he crossed his arms. "It's not, okay? Jeremy and I are just…testing things. We're still best friends and nothing's changing."

"Except you two make gross eyes at each other." Springtrap pointed out.

"We haven't started making out wildly in the office, okay?"

There was a loud crash coming from the Cove. Mike sighed. He shook his head as they listened to Foxy's loud cursing, the pitter patter of Plushtrap's small feet as it ran from the room and lunged on to Springtrap. The guard gave the small robot a dark look as Freddy and Foxy both ran into the Dining Room, Foxy trailing behind him a rope that was stuck to his hook.

"That 'lil cur! Gimme 'em and I'll rip 'em to shreds!"

"What happened?" Freddy demanded.

Mike sighed. "Plushtrap. How bad is the mess Foxy?"

"Sail came down! Blasted thing broke under its own weight, it ain't meant to be loose!" Foxy glared at the small bunny, hook pointed threateningly at it. "Ya lil bastard, ya better keep yer eyes open and be checkin' corners!"

Freddy heaved a sigh and ran a paw over his eyes, mumbling to himself as he shook his head. Mike hid a grin at that. He had definitely picked up that from him or Mark. Usually in response to Jeremy doing something ridiculous. Plushtrap wheezed something like a giggle, hiding when Foxy lunged at him behind Springtrap's waist.

"Guys, knock it off. We have to get that stuff cleaned up before opening." Mike scolded them.

"Why is this shit even here?!" Foxy snapped.

"Don't speak to my son that way." Springtrap hissed back, glaring down at the fox.

"For th'last smeggin' time, he ain't yer son!"

"Don't make me get Eggs in here." Mike threatened.

Springtrap hesitated before huffing and pulling away. He patted Plush on its head as he gave Foxy a sneer, daring him to try anything. Freddy shared a look with Mike. If he hadn't just gotten a raise, he would've demanded a raise for having to babysit. He was paid to guard.

" **Speaking of young Alex, is he okay? He has come in, but seems…distracted."** Fredbear said.

"Yeah, he's just dealing with a lot. Um…" Mike hesitated, not sure if he should tell them what he knew. But these were his friends; there was a reason they knew about him dating someone before any human. "His Dad is making things hard for him."

They all snapped to attention to that. Freddy's eyes darkened to black, the small white pinlight glow boring into Mike's soul. "What?"

"Don't tell Jeremy please. I'm trying to help Eggs through it until he' okay with him knowing. But apparently Afton is keeping contact with him monthly."

Springtrap spat static at that, hissing and snarling until his speaker blew out. "H-h-how **dare** he!"

"Whoa, calm down. We're dealing with it. But you guys can't let him know you know, else he'd probably kill me and never trust me again." Mike said.

"Why does th'monster keep getting' away?!" Foxy snarled.

Mike sighed. "I dunno…but once I can talk to Eggs about this, I'll let you guys know. Okay? You know I will."

"We trust you, Mike." Freddy promised him solemnly.

Relieved, the guard nodded. "Let's focus on cleaning up that mess in the Cove for now. Tomorrow, after the birthday party, I have someone coming in to see Eggs that I think will help…hopefully."

They nodded, Springtrap and Fredbear looking knowing. Mike left the room to get to the closet, knowing he'd likely need a broom. He'd leave a message for Mark about the Cove just in case. He could help clean it up or maybe stall the birthday. And soon, he hoped that Eggs could get some kind of closure.

"Maybe then he'll tell me why he's so mad at me…"

Xxxxx


	6. Chapter 6

Warnings: violence, death, molestation,

Xxxxx

"You okay? You've been real quiet today."

Jeremy paused from taking inventory. He glanced back, seeing Kyle giving him a concerned look, and just shrugged. "Fucking ecstatic."

The younger man frowned at that, tugging on one of his gauges as Jeremy pretended not to see him staring. Instead, he went back to work. It had been three days since Eggs had spoken to him or Mike and it was driving him insane. Any time he saw the other, no words were ever spoken. Eggs would act like he couldn't see either of them, and any attempt at starting a conversation was ignored.

What was really pissing him off though was Mike. The guard was heart broken over the silent treatment. He obviously adored Eggs and had no idea why he was suddenly acting like this. Jeremy had his suspicions but with no proof, he kept them to himself.

"You know, a few days ago, I'd believe that. You looked like you were walking on cloud nine, mi amigo." Kyle cut in. At Jeremy's glare, he crossed his arms. "Come on, you know I'm not a gossip. I just wanna make sure you're okay."

"Yeah…"

Jeremy leaned against the workbench. The other Engineer was staring at him curiously. He wondered how much he could even tell him. It was technically personal business, and had to do with their boss, but Jeremy decided he didn't care. If Eggs wanted his business private, then he shouldn't act like a giant brat.

"Boss man and Mike are fighting. I guess. He threw a giant fucking fit and now he's just…being a little bitch." He finally snapped.

"Mr. Afton?" Kyle hummed, looking concerned. "You guys are roommates, right? What he throw a fit about?"

Jeremy snorted at that. "Me and Mike. He was late for work, and he fucking went off. Looked like he was gonna have a heart attack."

"Maybe you should talk to him? I mean, here at work where he can't run off?"

"If I do that, I might get thrown into jail again." Jeremy mumbled.

"Have someone be your mediator?" Kyle suggested.

That made the blond pause. "Yeah, maybe…I dunno who we could drag into this though. Anyway, it's stupid shit and it'll be over soon. Don't worry about it. You just focus on learning your work so you can get your own restaurant."

Jeremy managed to put it off until his shift was over. He got himself something to eat and a drink, hiding in the guard office as he ate, and watching the cameras. He was surprised to see Eggs coming in. He usually only came to Freddy's when they had a meeting lately, since his main office was now at Baby's. He wondered if he should go out there, but the decision was made for him when the younger man made his way to the office.

"You have a second?" Eggs asked him softly.

"Just stuffing my face." Jeremy shrugged, trying to control his temper.

The CEO hesitated. "Every month I call my Dad and give him updates on how my life is going."

The blond nearly choked as he inhaled his soda too quickly. He began coughing violently, wheezing and hacking as Eggs ran over and began smacking him on the back. It took a few tries before Jeremy could breathe properly again. He took another drink to ease his throat, breathing hard before he turned to glare at Eggs.

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

"Exactly what I said." He answered. "It was one of the deals I had to make with him in order to come back here. At least once a month, I call him. Lately it's been more frequent though. I…asked him for advice the other night."

"You asked your _Dad_ for advice?" Jeremy gaped at him.

Eggs blushed. "I know, it sounds ridiculous, but...I didn't have anyone else."

"Uh, wow. Okay, that's really fucking depressing and I can't be angry at that."

The younger man sighed. He leaned against the desk, fingers tapping some kind of rhythm that sounded vaguely familiar. Likely one of the performing songs here but one that hadn't been ingrained into his subconscious yet. Likely a Fredbear song then.

"So, uh, what did serial-killer-daddy say?"Jeremy asked.

Eggs hesitated. "He said I was throwing a tantrum. That I was acting out because I felt...left out of knowing."

The Engineer paused at that, surprised. He raised an eyebrow as he mindlessly played with his straw. "What an oddly insightful response from a goddamn psychopath."

"He was right. And I know that...You didn't even tell Mark or Fritz, Mike only told the animatronics." Eggs managed a smile at that. "Even if we've gotten close and I've made strides in getting better at this whole, human interaction thing, I don't think I'll ever be as close to Mike as the robots here."

"So, this isn't just about me and Mike fucking around then, huh?" Jeremy mused. He pretended to be surprised at the idea, watching the way Eggs hesitated. "Kid, I didn't want anyone to know cuz I kinda sprung this on Mike. Odds are I'll fuck this up like most shit in my life."

Eggs stared off at the wall. He was thinking, brow furrowed, as his purple eyes glanced around at nothing, seemingly counting the specks on the wall. "That first night, I..."

"As much of a fuck up I am, I get it." Jeremy stood up, ruffling the younger man's hair as he beelined for the door. "Not many people can compare to my dazzling personality and humor. Plus my good looks."

"And your huge sense of humility..." Eggs grumbled.

"I get it, okay? But, shit don't always work out the way we want." Jeremy went on. Maybe he was being a hit hard on the kid. But sometimes he noticed the cues and he knew he wasn't wrong this time.

Eggs shuffled around awkwardly behind him. So he'd been right; he'd had some kind of little crush. But it would pass. Jeremy himself was damaged enough, he knew that, and Eggs had a road ahead of himself with all the bullshit he'd learned about with his fucked up family.

"I really am sorry..." Eggs finally said.

Jeremy gave him a smirk. "All good. Just make sure you tell Mike, he's been pretty down."

Eggs made a face but nodded. Feeling better, Jeremy limped off. He noticed Eggs stayed in the office but didn't think anything of it. He probably needed a moment to himself. The blond Engineer paused at the stage. Reluctantly, he motioned to Springtrap and the gold bunny ran over.

"Keep an eye on the kid, will you? He might need someone."

Xxxxxxx

Eggs glanced up when someone knocked on his office door later that day. Foxy grinned down at him, shifting in place as she motioned behind herself. "You have a visitor."

"Is it Simon? What's he sending you for, he knows his way around, you aren't some servant..." Eggs grumbled, standing up.

Foxy gave him a bemused look. "It's not him."

The animatronic fox stepped aside. A tall woman stepped through the doorway, clutching an expensive looking purse. Her hair was pulled back into a tight, neat bun and she wore a smart suit with heels. Seeing him, she looked shocked and torn. He felt the same, staring at her like she was a ghost.

"A...Aunt Jill?"

A hand went to her mouth, her bright brown eyes wet. "Alex…!"

She ran over to him in huge strides, and he found himself being hugged. He was frozen. He heard her quietly sobbing into his hair, and his own throat was closing up. This couldn't be real. It had been so long since he'd seen her and his Uncle Scott. He knew Scott had died here and he had closed off any further idea of meeting them.

He glanced over and saw Foxy gently closing the door, leaving them in peace. Slowly, he reached up and wrapped his arms around her. "You're...really here?"

"I am. Mike called me, said you were taking over. I never thought…" Jill pulled away enough to look down at him, eyes scanning his features to memorize them. "Oh Alex. Look at you..."

"I tried to find you, a-after I ran away, but I..." He hesitated, needing a moment to calm himself down. "I couldn't remember your last names, only the city we lived in so I came here but..."

"We tried finding you too. But they kept telling us we weren't allowed to adopt you because of the circumstances with your father." Jill explained softly.

Eggs nodded slowly, thinking. That made...sense, he guessed. His Dad going missing with his brother, along with other kids, in an area where they had several incidents already? He stiffened when Jill hugged him again, slowly wrapping his arms around her but suddenly nervous. He was so _different_ from that little boy she loved. What would she think of him now?

"Well, now that we've been reacquainted..." She carefully wiped her eyes, make up still intact. "There's someone I want you to meet. Not today, I think we should just...spend some time catching up, but when you're free. When I explained you to Scotty, he assumed you were automatically a cousin so now he's really excited to meet you."

Eggs froze a moment, thinking, before he managed to shrug it off and grin. "So I get to be the cool, rich cousin that owns a giant company huh? I think I can handle that."

Jill linked their arms with a chuckle. Eggs flushed slightly but walked them out on the floor, wanting to introduce her to the animatronics even if they already knew who she was. After she awkwardly met the Funtimes, and Eggs having to scold Bonbon for trying to escape into Jill's purse, they found a booth in the corner, ordered some nachos, and finally, after over a decade, caught up.

Xxxxxxxx

"Do you have any...sixes?"

Mike made a face, huffing before giving over two cards. "You guys always pick on me."

"Ask him if he has any threes." Chica said.

"You can't do that, that's cheating." Bonnie pointed out.

Next to Mike's side, Freddy heaved a huge sigh. "This is why we never play Go Fish."

Laying on his back, feet kicked up on Springtrap's shoulder, Eggs grumbled something about 'real card games'. "Can we at least play Poker guys? This isn't very fun with so many of us."

"How 'bout a smol game of Slap Jack?" Foxy teased, flashing his hook.

"I'm with Over Easy McMuffin. Let's do fucking Poker instead." Jeremy echoed. His cards were tucked into his knee as he cleaned his glass eye, breathing on it and shining it on his work shirt. "We can bet some Tokens. Mike's still missing some pluhies and I want me a goddamn light up pen with Foxy's head on it that I can bite off."

Chica looked at him in confusion. "You could just take one for free you know."

"Not fucking nearly as much fun as winning a shitty game of Strip Poker."

Shuffling his cards in his hands, Mark snickered. Balancing on his shoulder, Plushtrap was eyeing his card and sneaking suspicious looks over to Springtrap. Fredbear wasn't playing, preferring to watch, but he just shook his head, puzzled how no one else noticed how obvious and poor the golden bunny's cheating methods were.

"This is nice though." Mark finally said, throwing his cards down. "It's been awhile since we all got together like this."

"Is Fritz still scared of me?" Eggs asked.

"Nah, I think he's adjusting. The Toys tell him about stuff that's going on at the other restaurants and I think he's less on edge." Mark paused. "Also I think Kyle's been putting in a good word for you."

The black haired boy raised an eyebrow at that, curious, and Jeremy snickered. "I bet he fucking is..."

"Before we move on to a different game, anyone want anything from the kitchen?" Chica asked as she got to her feet, dusting off her bib.

Mike perked up. "We got the new ingredients yet? I'm really craving something different than pizza."

"Yeah, all the stuff should be here now. How about we get something new without knowing what it is? I'm supposed to do a taste test tomorrow with the head chef anyway." Mark said.

"Ohhh, sounds fun! I'll make you the best fried burger ever!" Chica all but ran off, and after a moment, Freddy and Bonnie followed her to help.

"….fried burger?" Eggs echoed with a face.

"Sounds like something that'll kill me and I'd thank it for it." Jeremy mused.

Mike shrugged. They fell into an easy silence, the remaining animatronics picking up the cards. Foxy picked at his teeth with his hook, glaring at Plushtrap as the small robot handed his cards to Springtrap. The Head Guard glanced around before clearing his throat, getting everyone's attention.

"So...this was fun and a nice, calm night. But is there a reason you wanted us here tonight Alex?"

The younger boy nodded. "Henry gave me something the other day. A recording he'd made when he and my Dad were working together. Apparently it's the only real notes they made on that crap they were making together."

"The kid blood voodoo shit huh?" Jeremy asked sardonically.

"Honestly, I just...don't get it. It's like mad science. Or magic." Eggs hesitated then, glancing over at Foxy. The red animatronic gave him a nod to go ahead. "It's like their taking a condensed form of just...suffering and pain. I dunno. But Dad called it Remnant."

Jeremy raised an unimpressed eye, giving Mike a look of 'really?' but the guard just sighed. "And that's how Afton keeps coming back, huh? Using this Remnant he stores away."

Eggs nodded. "There seems to be some kind of side effects when used, but...I haven't noticed any and he gave me a huge dose of it."

"It healed you from fatal injuries." Mike said. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, sharing a confused look with Jeremy. That blond winked, smirking as it caused the guard to flush and glare at him.

"But it does have a weakness." Eggs went on.

"Is this gonna be a permanent thing finally or will Afton just show up again in like, fucking four days afterwards?" The Engineer grumbled.

Mark kicked him. Jeremy glared and kicked back with his prosthetic, making the manager hiss in pain. Eggs rolled his eyes at this, annoyed. "Look, I hope this will be permanent. But who knows. From Henry's notes, the only thing that can break a Remnant connection is fire."

The pizzeria went silent, each of them thinking. Mike's eyes narrowed as he stared mindlessly at the tiles on the floor. Fire, huh? It was an interesting idea. And he couldn't help but find the idea of burning William Afton alive appealing. The man deserved worse, something even more painful, but if that's what it took then it was enough.

"So we push him into a volcano." Jeremy offered.

Eggs ignored him. "And...I'm beginning to think Cindy will have to join him."

That made them all pause, staring at him in shock and maybe a bit of horror. Mark went pale, swallowing roughly as Mike felt a heavy ball of lead and nausea settle in his stomach. None of them said anything though, Foxy's eyes burning intensely as he dug his hook into the tiles and Springtrap just slowly stroked Plushtrap's ears.

"If it comes to that...We'll do what we have to." Mike promised solemnly.

"I see so much of him in her. Especially now. Living with him, alone, I can't..." Eggs stopped, rubbing at his eyes. "Anyway, um, I think I have an idea on how we can finally settle things. No more possessed robots, no more serial killers. No more coming back."

Mike and Jeremy shared a look, the blond nodding slightly. He then looked at Mark. The brunet was rapidly biting his lip, sweating, but when he saw Mike staring he stopped. He gave a jerky nod as well. Taking a deep breath, Mike met Eggs' look confidently.

"Just tell us what to do."

Xxxxxx


	7. Chapter 7

"She's gone dormant?"

" **Yes. I can no longer speak with her, no matter how I try. Any of the usual tricks to get her talking have failed."**

Springtrap's eyes narrowed, ears tilting in thought. "Have you thought about telling the others?"

Fredbear hummed. **"It would do them no good. But perhaps telling Mike..."**

Sitting behind their curtain, Springtrap peeked out a moment, catching sight of Mark talking to a few customers. It was nearly closing time. Soon Mike would come in for the night. He'd be instantly set upon as always; Freddy, Bonnie and Chica had to be near the human at all times while he was in the building. Foxy would pretend he was above that before joining, like he didn't shadow Jeremy constantly during the day.

"If you tell Mike, you know he'll just want to help fix it." The gold bunny finally said. "Will she be okay with that? Obviously she knows of Mike, but having to deal with a living person herself..."

Fredbear shrugged in a way that made his partner stare curiously. It was such a human thing to do, echoed by all of them; they'd all been picking up little quirks and habits from the humans. How odd. The bear went to say something but stopped. Springtrap's ear rotated towards the back exit and he heard it too.

Soft scratching against the metal door.

"Well, look who's coming crawling back." Springtrap mused as he made for the door to open it. "Best have someone call Mike now then. It's better he's here for this."

Xxxxxxxx

Mike's strides were fast and long as he quickly walked up to the pizzeria's front doors. He knew he was a mess at the moment. His shirt was buttoned up wrong and it was wrinkled slightly but he'd been in a hurry when he put his uniform on. It was rare for him to be called in early like this but it had to be important.

Locking the door behind him, he beelined for the stage. "Guys, I'm here, what's going on?"

He was on the stage when the curtain peeked open. Freddy met his eyes, looking rather grim. Not a good sign. What could have happened? They hadn't asked for Jeremy so no one was broken. He ducked under Freddy's arm and froze up when a bone white face was suddenly in his.

" _How good to see you again, Michael Schmidt."_

Mike stared, feeling suddenly nervous. "Shawn?"

The Puppet slowly shook its head. _"No. Not at the moment. He is exhausted. Sleeping."_

"What happened to you? You were supposed to tell Alex so he could have some kind of closure with his brother! But not only did you not tell him, you suddenly were gone." Mike said hotly, hands on his hips.

The skeletal figure tilted its head, staring at him curious. It was so odd and inhuman. All the animatronics had adapted their movements, mimicking humans flawlessly; it made the kids and parents more relaxed. But the Puppet moved like a literal puppet on a string, the movement smooth yet jerky. Controlled.

" _Shawn was so frightened. He couldn't face him, knowing that he had caused it."_ Mike went to argue, but it pressed a velvety finger against his lips to hush him. _"He believes it so, so it is true to him. I am not here to argue semantics, Michael Schmidt."_

Mike made a face but let it go. "Why are you calling me that? Michael is fine, I guess."

"Probably because we have two now." Springtrap pointed out.

"Sure but he sticks to Alex with us. He's only Michael to the other employees."

The Puppet blinked slowly. _"Okay then. Michael. I have returned from the journey Shawn set us out on. He wanted to return to his family and-"_

"Why do you all keep returning to that asshole?!" Mike interrupted, throwing his hands up as he turned away. "What is wrong with you? It's bad enough his daughter is brainwashed into living with him, but you _and_ Alex both keep letting him off easy! He was under your watch in purgatory wasn't he? But no, he gets away and now he's off somewhere living it up."

"Mike..." Chica gently called out, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Hear them out."

Mike sighed, rubbing his eyes as he nodded. He hadn't even realized everyone was here. Chica and Bonnie flanked his sides as always, Freddy looming behind him. Foxy stood off to the side, unbothered for the most part, but Springtrap and Fredbear were behind the Puppet in an oddly familiar fashion. Were the three close? Puppet had always stuck to its freezer before.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to lash out like that." He said.

The Puppet blinked and titled its head the other way. _"We found them. It was easy. We always know how to track Him. But we did not reveal ourselves to them. It was too…."_

The Puppet suddenly jerked its head down, twitching. If it had a human neck, it would've snapped at the angle. It's body shivered and shook oddly, like it was holding something back. Mike stared, nearly jumping out of his skin when Freddy grabbed him by the shoulder and yanked him away and behind the brown bear protectively.

" _Too….it was too….t-too...m-m-much..."_

The Puppet's head spasmed unnaturally. Static spewed from its speaker, crackling as it twitched. The shivering turned full bodied, and then with a chilling scream that made the hair on Mike's neck stand on end, slammed its fabric fists against the stage flooring.

Springtrap grabbed them, wrestling the puppet to the floor. It shrieked and struggled, nearly slithering out from between the golden bunny's arms. Mike jumped back when one of its long arms went for his ankle. It swiped at him in rage, the Puppet shrieking and its eyes burning white. Chica kicked the appendage away with an angry look.

"What's happening?" The guard demanded, eyes wide as Springtrap managed to lock the puppet into his arms, it falling limp in defeat. "Are they okay?"

"He be overwhelmed." Foxy replied softly.

"It happened to any of us, before..." Freddy explained and made a motion towards Springtrap.

" _He had her pinned! He kept going as she screamed! And she apologized-"_ The Puppet's speaker cut out as it screamed.

Foxy sighed, shaking his head as he scratched his nose with his hook. "Been a long time since we be seein' this. Th'rage from the kiddos..."

Mike stiffened at that, glancing at Foxy. The red animatronic met his eyes with a stern look. Realizing that Foxy technically used to be Shawn's older brother, the guard frowned and glanced over at where the Puppet was slowly calming down, its twitching and spasming beginning to stop.

"You know where he is?" Mike said instead.

" _...Yes. He always has his hiding places."_ The Puppet whispered. It peeked at him from under Springtrap, the white iris's fading. _"Michael. I am old. I have lived through decades. I have held Shawn inside myself for so long and kept his soul safe. I have protected him from the horrors and truths of his family….but I failed from him seeing."_

"You did your best."

The Puppet blinked owlishly, tilting its head. " _I had forgotten your kindness, Michael. To think for a moment, I doubted you..."_

Mike cocked an eyebrow at that. "Doubted me? About what? I'm not going through any doors am I?"

Freddy glared at him. He just shrugged back sheepishly. Seeing that the situation was calming down, Springtrap released the fabric robot and allowed them to stand up. The Puppet took a moment to dust itself off before it pointed towards the backroom.

" _My box, please? It keeps the...anger at bay. Once Shawn awakens, he will speak with you Michael. And I ask that Alex be there. Perhaps its against Shawn's wishes, to see his brother again, but it is for the best. For both of them."_

Golden Freddy put a paw on the Puppet's shoulder, sternly yet sympathetically guiding it towards the backroom where the empty music box was waiting. The gold bear walked it away, Springtrap hesitating before he followed them.

"...What was he doing to her?" Mike whispered to himself.

"I think you know the answer to that, Mike." Freddy said hesitantly.

He glanced up, staring at the bear and then looking over at Bonnie and Chica. "But...but she's only…?"

"His victims were sometimes younger." Bonnie explained, putting a hard paw on Mike's shoulder. "The easier to manipulate, the better to him."

Mike shuddered, feeling a wave of nausea washing over him. He tried to take deep breaths. Swallowed carefully. But it was too much for him, and with a groan, he pressed his hand over his mouth and ran for the bathroom. As he began spewing dinner into the public toilet basins, he felt the rage from before burning hotly in his chest.

He refused to let Alex take on the burden; _**he**_ was going to kill William Afton.

Xxxxxx

"Mike, you look terrible."

The Head Guard managed a weak smile, hands in his pockets to hide their shaking. Jeremy gave him an odd look. He'd been fine only a few moments before, not even twenty minutes, but now he was pale and unkempt. He hadn't fixed his uniform and now he was pale from being sick.

"Should I get something for you? Do you need water?" Alex demanded, bright purple eyes locking on to any disarray he found on the older man. While usually so composed, he was beginning to look panicked. "Sit down, Spring, grab him a chair please?"

"I'm fine, really." Mike argued.

Jeremy snorted. "Nah, you look like someone just ran over your goddamn cat. What happened? Did you walk in on Foxy jacking off in the cove?"

Foxy gave him a one-eyed glare, flashing his hook. Jeremy smirked back. It managed to make a small but genuine smile spread across Mike's face. Jeremy always could cheer him up. Still, he shook his head and obediently sat down when Springtrap brought a chair up from the dinning room floor. They'd need it for later. Alex would need it.

"Just give me a second, okay?" He asked them both.

Alex pouted in response. He was getting too used to having things immediately now that he was the big boss. But even so, Mike couldn't blame him. It was late, he'd been called back to work in a hurry and now his friend wouldn't explain himself. But Mike needed to ease into this. Having the Puppet back didn't bother him, but what they were about to tell the poor kid did.

He got to his feet, taking a breath before he motioned for Alex to sit. The younger man looked at him skeptically. Confused. But he sighed and sat down, rolling his eyes affectionately when Springtrap patted the top of his head.

"What's going on Mike?" He asked.

"You met The Puppet before." Mike said.

Alex raised an eyebrow at that. "...How did you…? Yes, it was in the backroom. Said some weird stuff and then left. I didn't ever see it after that I think."

Jeremy rubbed at the scars on his forehead, looking annoyed. "Fucking..."

"Sorry, Jeremy." Mike told him, meeting his eye before looking back at Alex. "Puppet's come back. They need to talk to you, but...it's bad, Alex."

Alex sighed. He looked over at Fredbear before meeting Mike's eyes again and nodded. Mike took the tablet Bonnie had been holding for him and tapped a few buttons. He was unfamiliar with them since he never needed to do this before but Jeremy was staring at his fingers intently. He knew what he was doing.

He turned off the music box.

He didn't have time to put the tablet down before The Puppet was there. Eggs looked up at it curiously, seeing that it floated off the ground. Puppet stared back just as much, likely taking in how much the boy had changed. Mike took that time to grab Jeremy's hand, which was trembling heavily. Jeremy was comfortable now around the animatronics but there was something about the Puppet that he could never get over.

"Hi again." Alex greeted politely.

" _Oh Alex...you look so old."_ The Puppet whispered sadly.

The black haired boy scowled at that. "Wow, rude. I do not. Everyone always thinks I'm still in Middle School."

Puppet laughed in an odd, quiet manner, sounding more like a crackling in his speaker. _"The last time I saw you...You helped me get dressed for my birthday party. You helped me put my shoes on while Caleb and Cindy waited for us. And you held my hand down the sidewalk to get to the restaurant."_

Alex went very pale. Puppet offered its long claws and the boy took them. Used those long claws to wipe away the forming tears, and Mike turned away to give them a moment's privacy. He heard Alex crying, the two whispering back and forth. He tried not to listen. He focused on Jeremy instead, the blond Engineer reaching for his pack of cigarette's.

"Not inside." Mike scolded him automatically.

Jeremy gave him a dark look. "Fuck you. No, actually, whatever the opposite is. Unfuck you. Asshole. Could've texted me that it was here you know."

Mike bumped their elbows. "Sorry."

"Mike was too busy in the bathroom." Chica said.

"….so that's why you were so damn pale. Great. Thanks for ruining my night off by the way. Just one fucking night I'd like to not have to worry about what that motherfucker is doing off in his getaway mansion."

"Jeremy..." Freddy rumbled in warning.

Mike shook his head. "No, I'm sorry. I should've given you a heads up. But I was just...Anyway, it doesn't really change anything. We're still going to go through with this plan. But we have to make sure we keep an eye on Alex."

"If I wasn't so sure I'd pussy out, I'd say I'd fight you for the chance to kill him." Jeremy hissed around his cigarette. His teeth were clenching it so hard Mike could see it bending. "But god knows I would. He'd sweet talk his way out of it like he always did. And as much as it pisses me off, he'd probably get to me."

"He knows you too well, that's all." Mike said.

"That's not comforting!" Jeremy snarled.

"Jeremy-"

"No, just….stop." The Engineer turned away from him, breathing hard. His shoulders were shaking. "It's not you. I'm just shaken up. Okay? Give me a fucking second to chill out before you give me the speech."

Mike waited, letting him smoke in peace as Alex and The Puppet kept whispering. He glanced back to see Alex hugging the thin being, looking dwarfed by the long limbs. It made the boy, who already looked so small, even tinier in comparison. It would've been comical how Puppet tried to be in Alex's lap if it didn't make his heart throb so much. Shawn had been so young when he died…

"I don't make speeches." He finally said.

Jeremy snorted and began laughing. The sound got the attention of everyone else, ruining the moment but Mike was just glad to see that angry, frightened look off his face. Even if the laugh did have the slightest twinge of hysteria with it.

"You're a dork."

Mike raised an eyebrow. "Really? That's what you're going with?"

"Eh, now that we're sucking dicks I guess I should try to be nicer with my pet names."

Jeremy went back to smoking so Mike left him in peace. Instead, he focused on Alex and The Puppet. The shorter boy quickly wiped his tears, looking embarrassed. Mike almost rolled his eyes. He'd seen him cry before. But Alex was always so shy about things so he pretended not to notice.

"You have good timing at least, since now you can help us with The Plan." The Head Guard teased lightly.

The Puppet gave him a deadpanned stare. _"_ _Glad we could be useful to you, Michael."_

"...You still haven't told me what's so bad." Alex gently cut in.

The Puppet hesitated. Mike swallowed, hoping that the disgust didn't come back. It would; thinking of what William was doing, had been doing, made him sick. But he knew Alex would need him. This was all too much for him on top of everything else he'd been dealing with.

"Alex..." Mike said, gently guiding the boy to sit down again. "Your dad is...hurting your sister."

From the corner of his eye, he saw Puppet twitch angrily. It made him nervous, remembering too well what even something as thin as it could do to him. But he kept his focus on Alex. The color in his cheeks from crying disappeared as he went deathly pale. Mike knew he didn't need to elaborate.

"No..." Alex spat, horrified. "No, not...not Cindy. He wouldn't."

" _I'm sorry, Alex."_ Puppet said. _"I tried to keep Shawn from seeing it._ _We came back as soon as possible."_

Jeremy limped over then, motioning to Alex and the boy immediately got to his feet. Mike wrapped his arms around both of them, hugging Jeremy and Alex close as the youngest hide his face into the Guard's chest. It hurt; the boy's glasses dug into his skin. But he didn't care, holding the two tight. Jeremy's face was blank, staring off to the side in thought.

"We're going to stop him." Mike promised.

"She doesn't deserve this." The technician managed to say.

Jeremy's grip on Alex tightened. "None of you do. But that fucker is going to get it."

Alex wiped his face again, pulling away immediately from the physical contact. The Puppet offered a claw and he took it, holding its long fingers desperately. Mike glanced at Jeremy and the Engineer glared back at him before he aggressively held his hand.

"Then we can't put it off. I'm putting the notice in now. In two days, we'll be opening The Trap." Alex said evenly.

And so, in two days, The Trap opened its doors, surprising the small town it was located in 40 miles away from Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria. In those two days, Alex refused to leave The Puppet's side, worried that his little brother would disappear if he took his eyes off him again. Mike and Jeremy sat up late into the night, quietly discussing what they would do if something went wrong. Neither of them felt happy about it, but they had brushed up against death too many times to risk it.

On the eve of the 10am opening of The Trap, hidden in his hideaway, William Afton received a phone call begging for his return. With an eager, perverse smile, he began preparing to do just that.

Xxxxxx


	8. Chapter 8

Sorry for the giant gap in updating times. Hopefully you'll find it all worth it :)

xxxxxxxx

"Have you seen the new place that opened? John and Linda want to check it out this weekend."

Melissa made a face, sighing into her cellphone. "You know me and Linda don't get along anymore. And you mean the new Freddy's? Who cares."

"Don't be like that. It's like, for teenagers and whatever now. If you go in with face paint, you get a free pizza! Plus they have a huge arcade, please?"

The blond girl rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Maybe. I have a lot going on already, my mom wants me to bring Cassie to her karate crap."

"Well, just call me when you're done, I'll make sure you guys aren't alone together."

Melissa hung up, tossing her phone into her purse. Sitting in the park, she sighed again and leaned back against the bench. It was beginning to get late, the sun setting behind the tall buildings of her little city. She had unread messages from her parents, asking where she was, and she just needed a moment to herself away from the world.

Why would her friends want to go to a lame place like Freddy's? It was a place for kids to win kiddie prizes. And even if it was free pizza, it likely meant you needed to buy some other garbage as well. She didn't want to be surrounded by screaming children while trying to enjoy food. Plus the workers would just assume they were there to mess around.

"M-miss? Can you help me?"

Melissa jumped out of her musings, caught off guard. A girl, no more than eight, stood off to the side of the bench. Her strawberry blond hair was messy, and her face bright red from crying as she sniffled and wiped snot on her sleeve of a muddy white dress. The teenager felt her heart stop, gaping at the scene before jumping to her feet.

"Oh my god, are you alright? Where's your parents?"

The girl hiccuped. "I can't find my m-mommy, and..."

Was this really happening to her? She forced a smile, wanting the girl to feel safe with her. "Hey, it's okay! We'll find her together. What's your name?"

Wiping the wet tears from her eyes, the girl bashfully answered. "Cindy."

"Okay, Cindy. My little sister looks about your age...how about we go into that store and call someone?" Melissa offered, holding out her hand. "I'm sure your mom is around here somewhere."

Cindy took her hand, perking up. "Let me show you where she was!"

Melissa frowned at that, about to disagree and insist they go into civilization where there were lights and cameras and people. But Cindy's grip was surprisingly strong, and she was pulled along with the little girl's eager guiding. They followed the park's path away from the center and more towards the edge where the playground was.

"Daddy!"

Melissa looked around. Daddy? She lost both parents? Surely she must have run off then. But that didn't explain the mud and how she'd been crying. Confused, she looked down at Cindy but any signs of tears had disappeared. She looked happy, nearly shaking with glee. An oddly heavy weight sunk in the teenager's stomach.

"Cindy, where's your parents?" She asked gently.

"Thank ya for findin' my girl."

Something was pressed against her mouth. Melissa went to scream, struggling, but only inhaled whatever was infused in the cloth. Something thin and horribly cold was being wrapped around her limbs, so she tried to kick only to be lifted completely off her feet.

"Aww, what a pretty thing. Cindy, ya got Daddy's taste."

She was on the ground, vision and head swimming. In the fading light, she saw Cindy watching her with a detached, almost bored gaze. It was so surreal to see such an expression on a little girl's face. But more importantly than her was the man kneeling next to Melissa's tied up form. His hand was pressed against her mouth as he leered down at her, blue eyes taking her in.

He finally looked at her, giving her a wide smile. "Don't worry, lil lady. Keep your mouth shut, and ya might even get to see your parents again."

"Or Cassie." Cindy added, winking when Melissa whimpered.

She was having a nightmare. Of course. She had fallen asleep at school. She'd wake up soon, and Mr. Batch would give her detention because he always knew when someone wasn't paying attention. She was just having an oddly realistic dream about calling her friends and now about being abducted.

A horrible…. **horrible** nightmare she realized as the cold things wrapped around her slithered against her skin, coming from under the man's clothes, and then they began pulling her up. Her feet didn't touch the grass, and as she tried to keep her head up the chemicals hit her. Her vision swam, darkening no matter how hard she tried to to scream to wake up.

Before losing herself, she thought she heard them talking. Freddy's. Robots. Children. It reminded her of the old rumors from the other town, where the pizzeria's main location was located. But it was a hazy thought as she drifted off, silently praying to wake up in her classroom.

Xxxxxxxxxx

Henry was smoking a cigar when Mike came in. The Head Guard gave him a moment, letting him move his papers and close his laptop before sitting across from his desk. They hadn't formally met, Eggs did any communicating for them. But the building was small, and while Jeremy was keeping Eggs and Puppet company, he thought now would be a good time to finally talk.

"Mike. Forgive me, I should have long since introduced myself." Henry greet him, giving a firm, calloused handshake.

"Don't worry about it." Mike said easily, sitting down.

There was a moment of silence between them. Mike got comfortable in the plush seat, pretending not to notice the way Henry was nervously shifting. They both paused when they heard something moving next door, Henry sighing as he got up and opened the closet door.

"Cadet, you're supposed to be on the show floor."

The robot ignored him, wheeling itself past and into the office. Mike gave it a wave, smiling. Eggs had introduced them to some of the "new" additions. Whatever that could still be used or that showed any suspicious signs of possession. Candy Cadet was still unsure to them all, since it would keep moving despite being turned off, but did not show any haunting signs.

"Candy?"

Mike chuckled. "Sure, thanks Cadet."

The robot's antennae flashed a few colors before it popped out a green candy ball. Mike took it, smiling even as Henry sat back down, mumbling about disobedient AI. Candy beeped a few times before wheeling itself towards the main door. It ran into the door, back up, then ran into it again.

"Fine! Geez, I never had these problems with own..." Henry marched over, opening the door for the robot. "Do **not** bother Michael."

"Candy….candy….candy…." The robot left them, heading directly towards where Eggs was sitting with Jeremy.

"I've never...seen them advance like this before." Henry slowly admitted, closing the door but not moving away.

"You mean like them growing?" Mike asked.

Henry nodded. He took a long whiff of his cigar before sitting back down at his desk, looking exhausted and very old. On principle, Mike tried not to feel any real sympathy. Henry was William's coworker. Whether or not he hurt children himself, he still hadn't done anything to stop his partner. And Mike found it very convenient that he had all these plans in order so soon, _just_ when Eggs needed them…

Jeremy had less than friendly words about Henry. So Mike thought it best they talk one on one.

"I once snuck into Freddy's. To see how you and Mr. Jeremy had fixed them. I thought you must have done it finally, had cleaned them out and gotten... _them_ out."

Mike raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. Better to let Henry talk. The man was obviously drowning in guilt and regret. It was hard not to notice the flask and the strong smell that came off it, and said flask had yet to be removed from Henry's belt.

"I thought….I thought it would be so easy. When they started acting…" Henry sighed. "God, I never thought he'd do something...Especially...Especially to **me**."

Mike felt his patience snapping. "Because he'd never molest YOUR kids, right?"

Henry flinched so violently he nearly fell over. "No one suspected...Will got so much love and attention. From everyone! He had people lined up to go out with him, he had a business, a home, he was loved by the town. _We_ were loved..."

"Just so long as it didn't affect you?" Mike asked relentlessly.

"I didn't know, Schmidt. When we first opened Fredbear's there was no sign of this. He was just...a bachelor. He slept around, broke some hearts, but he always told me how he just wanted to find that one person...Someone who'd be his partner, like me and..." Henry trailed off before grabbing his flask.

Mike let him take a few sips, turning the green candy ball over in his hands to give him time. "You don't have to explain the whole story to me. I've got the important bits. But what this all caused, don't think for one second you're innocent in this."

Henry nodded. "His life was perfect….so why….?"

"Because he's sick." The older man looked at him in confusion so Mike pointed towards his temple. "Here. I mean, I'm not a doctor or anything but if the guy likes kids, then...nothing would satisfy him. He knew enough that he had to hide it."

Henry gave a humorless chuckle at that. "They say all that bullshit about hindsight...if they only knew. When….when my twins went missing, William had never crossed my mind. He was right there, holding our hands, crying as we buried them. But then we….we tried again. And they just kept going missing. Only none of them ever turned up again like my Charlotte and Sammy…"

"He sticks them into the suits until he can get rid of them...guess that's how we end up with them being haunted." Mike said softly. "We got rid of some of them, letting them pass on."

"Good….that's, that's good..." Henry murmured into the flask.

"I want to be clear." Mike began instead, holding the other man's gaze. "We're working together here, because we all want him dead. But don't think for one moment I'm not watching you. You're not much better in my eyes, and you never once stood up to help anyone else. Jeremy, Eg-Alex, whatever, any of those kids..."

Henry looked away guiltily. "...There's no excuses, but-"

"You're right, there isn't." Mike hissed, standing up. "I'm sorry to hear about your kids, but you weren't around for years. So many people have died at places that have **your** name on them! You fed night guards to the ghosts for how many years?! I spent months of my life scared that I'd slip up once and die painfully, and where were you? Vacating in your nice mansion?"

Henry didn't respond, and Mike decided he'd said what he needed. He went to get leave but was beaten by a knock at the door. Eggs peeked inside, glancing between them before giving a half smile.

"They're finished, Mike. Want to see?"

Mike grinned and quickly followed him out.

The Trap was a cube; boxed rooms upon boxed rooms. It was tight and compressed, but felt oddly large inside. They made the most of the space. The main room with the stage, the arcade, the kitchen and dinning rooms, everything was state of the art. And that included the controls.

"Mike!"

Bonnie rushed over, ignoring Jeremy's shout of paint drying. Mike chuckled as the large bunny hugged him and whirled him around playfully. "It's barely been a few days, guys. The new design looks...interesting."

Freddy was looking extra grumpy, arms crossed but Chica looked ecstatic. Foxy nudged his new mini partner, a little parrot that they had so called name Polly (Jeremy had grumbled about it being unoriginal but had offered nothing when asked for a suggestion) and was practically beaming with pride over it.

"Okay, so the new paint is on, they've gotten updates to do with the new cosmetics, and Jeremy says their AI has transferred completely." Eggs explained.

"Basically, its new bodies, not just a face lift." Jeremy added.

Mike nodded, looking Bonnie over before moving on to Chica, where she was pointing out the new details. "So what about back at the actual restaurant?"

"They'll keep performing like usual, but won't be on the show floor with the kids. We're claiming they need repairs." Eggs said.

"This be meanin' yer gonna see more of us, Mike." Foxy put an arm around Mike's shoulders, grinning and showing off his new teeth, gold and all. "Lil lad made it so we can transfer around."

"Wait, what?" Mike raised an eyebrow and turned towards Eggs. "What does that mean?"

"Well, Ballora and Bonbon have mentioned not liking being contained in their location, and Freddy has mentioned they don't like that they can't protect you at home."

"You did NOT let these fuckers wander around our house." Jeremy snarled, jumping to his feet.

"Not anytime they want!" Eggs argued.

"Why not?!" Foxy hissed back.

Mike chuckled, petting Foxy's snout to placate him. "Relax. Besides, we have a whole underground facility we can turn into something, right?"

Eggs nodded. "I've been cleaning out the rooms. The machines to clean them and repair them and make their parts stay of course, but I started looking at maybe putting in a theater. We watch movies all the time."

"A theater would be sick. Chica makes some fucking great popcorn." Jeremy sat back down, kicking his legs up on the table. Eggs gave him a dark look but didn't argue. "Besides my new studio of course, we should work on that."

"First comes my office, actually." Eggs corrected him lightly, glancing up when the Puppet floated from the ceiling down into his lap. "Sean, you're supposed to be sleeping."

" _Nightmares."_ The thin animatronic whispered, shifting self consciously. _"The box usually helps, but I can't...stay asleep."_

Eggs made a face, purple eyes meeting Mike's. That wasn't good. For some reason. But Eggs just gently hushed his little brother, not minding the huge limbs folding multiple times to fit. Jeremy's leg began bouncing, his green eye darting around the room without laying sight on it.

"Let's see if I can help, let's go." Eggs gathered Puppet up into his arms, whispering to it as he went.

Jeremy waited until he was out of sight before huffing irritably. "Please promise me I will never wake up to those motherfuckers in our room. I will divorce you."

"We need to be married before that." Mike teased him, sitting down. "And if this is your way of proposing, I'm turning you down for shitty timing."

The Engineer laughed. The pair of them moved to where they had picked as their 'room'; a tiny room with air mattresses and comforters. Mike went into his immediately but knew he wouldn't sleep. He was a night owl now so he'd be up for awhile before falling asleep. On top of that, he was on night duty to keep an eye out for... _him_.

"Just so you know, the three of us are under sworn pinky promise to not fucking die or make any stupid righteous sacrifices. Me and Scrambled decided, and I swore in your place."

Mike grinned silently into his pillow. "This is still shitty timing."

"I don't think you're properly reacting to this breaking news, asshole. We can't die. Nothing beats a pinky swear. We should just pack it up and go home now, the motherfucker has likely burst into flames." Jeremy mused.

Before Mike could think of a proper response, the door opened and Eggs peeked inside. "Hey, uh, I got him sleeping again but...mind if I drag my mattress in here?"

Both of them hesitated; Eggs had never actually admitted struggling to sleep or any nightmares he'd had. While the situation was awful and shouldn't have happened in the first place, Mike felt oddly happy that the boy felt comfortable enough to show such weakness in front of them both. Especially since their disagreement.

"Slide on in, McGriddle." Jeremy offered, popping out his fake eye. "Fuck, I think I'm looking forward to becoming a full cyborg. This flesh shit is the goddamn worse."

"Cyborg means part human still." Eggs corrected him dryly, removing his glasses and tucking them off to the side. "And stop. You're a walking advertisement at this point. It's getting confusing enough."

The door opened again. Jeremy groaned loudly as Chica poked her head in, her bright eyes making them all flinch. "Oops, sorry. Just checking to see if you were sleeping."

"We're not." Eggs pointed out helpfully.

"And we'd be fucking pissed if you came in here like that, we're trying to sleep!" Jeremy snapped at her.

Mike rolled his eyes. "Chica, you have to remember we're human, we can't deal with that. We need to set up some ground rules if this is going to be a thing."

Eggs sighed and pulled his blanket over his head. "Tomorrow. Please. Some of us have to get up early."

"They be sleepin' yet? Can we get in?" Foxy's voice called from outside the room.

"For fuck's sake, you pieces of shit!" Jeremy threw whatever was in his hand, not caring that it was his fake eye and that it shattered across Chica's chest. "Shit, I meant to throw something else."

"If you guys want to be in here you have to be quiet so we can sleep." Mike told them gently, not surprised to see Bonnie, Foxy and Freddy peeking behind Chica. "Really, really quiet."

"Great, just what we need. Killer robots standing and watching me sleep." The blond Engineer grumbled.

Mike smiled. He shooed them away though, since the room was far too small for the three of them and four animatronics. But he found the idea...not horrible. They could be upgraded to something less hard around the house, more plushy. Cuddling a giant teddy bear that could hug you back sounded like a pretty good idea.

He listened to Jeremy and Eggs fall asleep. The sound of them gently snoring and shifting, Mike tried to memorize them. Any day now, they could be facing off against William and they could die. He'd made the promise to put himself between Jeremy and William, and he'd die for either of his friends got hurt.

Not this time. Now, they were the ones springing the trap on William.


End file.
